Not What They Expected
by mad343
Summary: When a new agent comes to replace Dom, how will the team react? How will her presence affect Callen and reveal secrets from his past? *I dont own NCIS: LA or any of the characters*
1. Chapter 1

***Ok, so this is my first fanfic. Just something that I have been playing around with. Any and all suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated. I also don't have a lot of time to edit this so if anyone has any ideas on how to make it better message me. * **

"You WHAT?" screamed Kensi.

"Miss Blye, I understand that you are all still grieving over the loss of Dominic but we need a new agent" Hetty said in a tone that challenged anyone to disagree.

"What about Deeks?" Callen asked

"Detective Deeks has not had sufficient training to take over at this point. Now this conversation is over. Miss Valle is highly capable and it was extremely difficult for me to convince the CIA to let go of her."

"Oh great, she's CIA? Well she's obviously going to be a pain in the ass." Sam scoffed

"Ah Agent Hanna, I sense that you have some aversion to the CIA?" The NCIS agents turned to see a tall, tan, blonde clad in dark skinny jeans, and a black tank top.

"Uhh….umm. I…" Sam stuttered

"I would like everyone to meet Special Agent Emily Valle" Hetty announced to her team who stared back at her with wide eyes and open mouths.

"It's an honor to be working with all of you." The new agent said politely. Callen was the first to approach her. "Callen, G. Nice to meet you." He said with a skeptical look in his eyes. How could this girl be a federal agent? She couldn't be more than 25. One by one the other agents introduced themselves. Just as Hetty was about to speak, a sharp whistle from Eric called them to the war room. As they made their way up the stairs, Callen found himself staring at the new agent. She didn't look like an agent, she didn't look tired or defeated, it was apparent that she was new at this. She suddenly looked back at him with a questioning look. Embarrassed, he quickly turned away.

Once in the war room, Eric briefed them on their newest case. "This is footage from LAX at around 2 yesterday afternoon" Eric said pointing to a video of a group of men unloading crates into a burgundy van. Out of nowhere a black SUV sped towards the men, after running over 3 of them, a man armed with an AK-47 got out and shot the other 4 before loading the crates into the SUV and speeding off.

"Eric, why exactly are we looking at this?" Callen asked

"Well, the 5 men to the right are a part of a Mexican drug cartel, and these two men…. are Navy Seals." Eric said sadly.

"What are Navy Seals doing with members of a drug cartel?" Sam wondered out loud, sounding agitated.

"Unfortunately, it seems as if they were in on the transfer." Emily said

"Navy Seals would never do something like that! We have a sense of honor!" Sam screamed

"I was just voicing my opinion agent Hanna. There's no need to get defensive." Emily countered, taken aback by this outburst. She obviously was not making any friends today, she thought.

"You don't have a right to voice an opinion! You are NOT part of this team and you never will be. So why don't you go back to the CIA where you belong. We only want agents here, not Malibu barbies!" Sam yelled.

With a look that could kill Emily said what none of them had expected her to "No." Even Nate was taken aback. He thought for sure that she would walk away crying. Maybe Sam had finally met his match.

"I was practically begged to come here and I have been nothing but nice to all of you. The only person who has the authority to make me leave is Miss Lange." She said calmly. "I know that you have recently lost an agent but that is no reason to take it out on me. I have been a senior field agent with the CIA for 6 years. I have the highest security clearance of anyone in this room and I am fantastic at what I do. You don't have to like me but I demand that you respect me. Now, can we get back to this case?"

She was definitely a piece of work Callen thought. He had never seen anyone stand up to his partner like that. She looked too young to be a senior field agent. Even when he was with the CIA he didn't get up that high. Eric's voice broke though his train of thought. "I've got a match on the SUV plates. It looks like it is registered to a Felix Delgado; a Columbian known for his involvement in the drug cartels."

"Do we have any addresses for Delgado?"Kensi asked Eric

"There's a warehouse on the Westside. I'll send the address to your GPS."

"Sam, you go with Kensi. Emily, you're with me."

Once in the Challenger, Callen looked over at the new agent. She looked completely at ease. "I'm sorry about the team. We are still sore over Dom. Sam didn't mean what he said."

"It's okay, I know it's not easy to let an agent go and see a new one come in to take their place."

Pulling up to a warehouse, the team got out, guns drawn and began to make their way to the entrance. Once inside, Sam and Kensi took the second floor while Callen and Emily searched the first. The sound of gunshots rung in the air. The agents immediately took an offensive stance, guns drawn on a subject on the balcony, then another four on the first floor. Once all of the assailants were taken out the team continued their search. Emily had taken out three that the others hadn't seen. Even Sam had to admit that she was a good shot. But the team still wasn't communicating with her. She thought that there must be another shooter but they did not want to listen. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man aiming an AK-47 at Kensi and Sam. She took him out with her last 2 bullets. No one else had seen him. And he wasn't alone. The sound of a clip being loaded into a gun drew her attention backward. Without them knowing, another man had taken aim at Callen. She had no more bullets and had no time to call Sam or Kensi. She did the only thing that she could. She jumped in front of Callen just in time to have 12 bullets rip into her. Kensi quickly took the shooter out before running over to Callen and the fallen agent.

Callen dropped to the ground, holding the barely alive agent in his arms. She had saved his life by sacrificing her own. Why? He had only known her for about 6 hours. Why did she feel such a responsibility to protect him? Especially after the way she had been treated by all of them.

"Come on Em, stay with us" he yelled. Sam took off his shirt and gave it to Callen who promptly pressed it against the agent who was bleeding out in his arms. In the distance he could hear the sirens that told him that help was close. If she could just make it a little bit longer...


	2. Chapter 2

CH II

Emily was regaining consciousness in slow painful episodes. Her entire body was in pain and she could feel IV needles pulling just below her skin. The room was bright, too bright. It burned her eyes and added to the massive headache that was threatening to make her head explode. The small holes where the bullets have torn her apart were burning as if someone had poured acid on them. She had gotten shot many times before, but it had never been like this.

Looking sideways she saw a male figure slumped in a chair next to her bed. She couldn't quite make out the face but everything about his body showed her that he was exhausted and on the verge of giving up on all hope.

Callen's POV:

It had been 3 weeks since that day at the warehouse, plenty of time to process what had happened. As someone who had lived his entire life being other people's trash, he didn't understand why she would care about him.

He looked up to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring at him with curiosity. She was awake! He immediately kneeled by her bed and took her hand in his. Realizing that he probably looked crazy, holding her hand like they knew each other, he dropped her hand and went back to the chair. He had no idea what he should tell her, He didn't even know why he was here. No, that was a lie, he knew exactly why, He didn't want her to wake up alone.

"Hey" he said

"Hi Callen"

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got shot 12 times..."She answered sarcastically

Grimacing, Callen answered "you didn't have to do that, but thank you..."

"Yeah well I didn't know he was going to shoot you 12 times! So next time how about I take 6 and you take 6?" She smiled

This made Callen laugh, something that he had needed for 3 weeks. "Deal" he responded.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch III

Emily walked back into the bullpen at NCIS for the first time in two months. She was greeted by a hug from Kensi and a truly heartfelt apology from Sam. She and Callen had grown close in those two months. He had been there for her in those weeks. Every time she had winced in pain he was at her side. She was glad to be back. Although, she thought, she was never really here to begin with.

********************************2 years later*********************************

"I'm so over always going undercover as a stripper or escort." Emily said as she tried to brush out the stubborn curls that were now glued in place with hairspray. "Too much work."

"I rather enjoy watching it though" Callen mumbled as she shot him a look that could break glass. It didn't seem like 2 years since she had come to the NCIS special projects branch in LA. He had worked with her on the majority of the undercover ops. As Hetty always said, they looked perfect together. When he played a wealthy Russian, she was his trophy girlfriend on the side. When he was a bad-ass felon she was that sweet girl that fell hopelessly in love with him. More often than not, he found himself wishing that she really was. These were dangerous thoughts. She worked with him and although they were close, he could never let those feelings surface. She probably knew more about him than anyone. Not necessarily because he had told her stories about his past, but rather because of the mass of information she had at her disposal from her years with the CIA. She seemed to understand his obsessive need to move around and unfortunately seemed to have a grasp on the emotions that he never let anyone see.

"Earth to G" Sam said as he waved a hand in front of his partners face."Come on man. Get with the program."

"Sorry what were you saying?"

"Were all going out for dinner, Chinese, let's go" Sam urged

"Yeah, okay, sure, I'm ready." Callen said as he began picking up his stuff. "Em you coming?" he called back.

"Umm, no, I think I'm going to head home and get off all of this makeup. I look like hell. Have fun though"

Callen couldn't help but feeling disappointed. "See you tomorrow"

"Bye guys"

It was time to move again, Callen thought as he set his bag and jacket down beside his desk. Way too noisy.

"Morning G" Sam exclaimed as he walked into the bullpen

"How can you possibly be so awake in the morning?" Deeks said with his head in his hands. Deeks had become a permanent fixture at NCIS, and while he was almost always annoying someone, he had grown on the team.

"He goes for a 5 mile run every morning. The man has way too much energy." G replied.

"Who has too much energy?" asked Kensi with a donut in her mouth

"Where did you get THAT?" Deeks almost shrieked nodding to the sugary pastry "Did Emily bring donuts again?"

"No, I stopped at crispy crème on the way here, this is the last one" she said as she took the last bite

"Emily always brings donuts for everyone" Deeks said pouting.

"Well I'm not... wait where is she?"

With a sickening feeling Callen pulled out his cell phone and pressed speed dial 3. A look of terror passed over his face. "It's turned off." He said quietly

"She never has her cell off." Sam added

"I'm going to tell Hetty." Kensi said getting up

"Tell me what agent Blye?" The petit woman asked from behind her.

"Emily isn't picking up her phone and she's an hour late." Deeks answered

"Hmm that is strange. Mister Callen, take agent Hanna and check out her house. I will have Eric send the address and security codes to your phone."

Once in the car, Sam turned to G "She's fine G, she's the best operator that we know."

"I hope you're right."

The rest of the drive was passed in silence. They arrived at a large wooden gate and Sam punched in the key code. The gate slowly opened to reveal a large modern house with large glass walls. It looked like something straight out of an architecture magazine. Getting out of the car Callen had to force himself not to run towards the door. Maybe she had overslept, maybe she wasn't feeling well. The second he stepped foot in her house all doubt vanished. There was blood. Lots of blood. When Sam had determined that there was no one in the house, they began to look around. The majority of the blood was in the front room, the rest of the house was organized and clean. Everything about her house seemed to fit her perfectly. The furniture was all white and glass, accented by dark wood floors. There were pictures everywhere. Some were of her family and friends and others were artistic photos. His eyes landed on one in particular. It was a black and white photo of the team. He vaguely remembered her having their waiter to take it at a restaurant about a year ago. They had been celebrating after a particularly tough case. Even Hetty seemed to be enjoying herself.

"We are going to find her G." Sam said from behind him.

"We have to." After calling the rest of the team, they continued to look through the house to see if there were any clues as to who might have happened to her. When Callen came to her bedroom he stopped in the doorway. It smelled like an ocean breeze with a hint of citrus, it smelled like her. There were various pieces of jewelry spread out on her dresser as well as a picture of a teenage Emily and another girl sitting on a beach. On the bottom of the frame the word "sisters forever" was inscribed in gold lettering. As far as he knew she didn't have a sister, so this must be her best friend. She looked so happy and Callen couldn't help but wishing that he had had a childhood where he could have had friends to hang out with. As he walked around her room he saw one last picture. In a small wood frame was a picture of a young couple holding a blonde little girl. He knew almost immediately that they were her parents. Not only was she his partner, she was someone's best friend and she was someone's daughter. They had to find her.


	4. Chapter 4

CH IV

*Emily's POV*

Waking up with your hands cuffed to a metal rod is never good. How on earth did I get here? I remember walking to the café early this morning. I was being followed. I think. Yes, I was definitely being followed. I lost the guy in the crowd. Then went back home. They were waiting for me. They somehow got in my house. I shot two of them before one of them shot me in the leg. How did they get me in their car? Did they drug me? They must have.

My leg is throbbing. I've lost a lot of blood. The team must be looking for me by now. Oh God, Callen is probably freaking out. If I could only get out of these cuffs...

"Well, well, well, special agent Emily Valle. CIA and now NCIS" a man's voice said.

"I don't believe that we have had the pleasure of meeting. What do you want with me?" I replied. I have to keep my emotions under control. I need to buy myself time.

"I want you to get me something."

"Hmm and what would that be? Money, exemptions?"

"G Callen"

In that second all of my training went out the window. Every emotion, fear, pain, anger, flashed before my eyes. Why did he want Callen? I said the only thing I could "No" It was meant to sound forceful but it came out as more of a plea of desperation.

"We'll see what you say this time tomorrow."

Those words began a series on long, painful days. They did all they could to break me down. I would not give up. Images of Callen flashed across my mind. I was fighting for him.

Two weeks had gone by since Emily had gone missing. There were no leads, no calls, no demands for money, nothing. They had been the longest two weeks of Callen's life. All of his training told him that she was dead, but he refused to believe it. He felt like a major part of him was missing. He had gotten used to seeing her bright smile every morning. That smile had helped him through some rough days.

"We have a video!" screamed Eric. "She's alive!"

In an instant the team was up stairs in the war room, the faintest glimmer of hope in everyone's eyes. "Play it Eric" Kensi said anxiously.

A live feed of a seemingly lifeless Emily appeared on the screen. There was blood pooling around her leg and head. It took all of Callen's willpower not to scream. A distorted voice took their attention away from the agent's body.

"Good afternoon agents, as you can see I have agent Valle. If you want to see her alive again, Agent Callen, you will go to the Santa Monica Pier at midnight tonight. Once I see you alone on the pier I will have Miss Valle dropped off somewhere where the other agents will find her. But I warn you agent Callen, if I so much as suspect that there are other agents around, the next time you see her, she will be in a body bag." The video cut off...

"So, what is the plan?" Sam asked breaking the silence.

"I am going to the pier tonight, alone." Callen answered "she was obviously taken to get to me, I am not going to put her life in any more danger than it already is."

"But..." Kensi started.

"This is non-negotiable" and the look on his face told them that he was dead serious.


	5. Chapter 5

As Callen drove to the Santa Monica Pier, thoughts and images rushed through his mind. There was definitely a possibility that he was being set up. She could already be dead and he was giving himself up for nothing. It was a risk he was willing to take. It was a risk he had to take…

Emily's POV:

Being kidnapped and tortured is nothing like you see in the movies. It's dirty and excruciating. You lose track of time after about the third day and everything seems hazy. Everything, that is, except for the pain. You start to pray that death will over-take you and you can just go to sleep. There were brief instances when I considered giving in and calling Callen. Death seemed easier than betraying him. If it would only come a little quicker. They had done the unspeakable to her. She knew that even if she somehow got out of this mess, she would never be the same. Laughing seems frivolous when you are struggling to breathe. The sound of a heavy door swinging open made her cringe. What else could they possibly do to her?

"Get up!" one of her captors yelled. "We have ourselves a little rendezvous with your boyfriend at the pier."

No! Why would he do that? Doesn't he know that they will kill him? She was too weak to protest. She just hoped that Callen had some sort of plan.

Standing on the now deserted Santa Monica Pier, Callen's stomach jumped at the sight of a black SUV speeding towards him. This is it. Three men got out of the SUV and began the long walk down the pier. One of them he recognized, Ivan Sodorov, a major player in the Bratva, the Russian mafia. Emily's chance of survival just dropped to about 10%.

"Good evening Agent Callen" Sodorov said in his thick accent.

"Where is she?" Callen practically yelled.

"Actually, she's right here. " Sodorov said gesturing towards a man carrying something. "We thought she might want to see you die."

As the man walked under the pier light, Callen could clearly see Emily. He had put her down and was supporting her weight. She was gaunt and bloody. She looked like death. Looking up, her eyes met his.

"Callen" she whispered.

She was alive. She looked like shit, but she was alive and that's all that mattered.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but it is time for you to die Agent Callen"

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot followed by the sickening sound of metal tearing away flesh echoed in the hot California air. Everything was eerily quiet as a man fell to his knees.


	6. Chapter 6

***Sorry that these chapters are so short, hopefully I will get a break in writing school papers to spend more time on this.***

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot followed by the sickening sound of metal tearing away flesh echoed in the hot California air. Everything was eerily quiet as a man fell to his knees.

Little did Callen know that Sam and Kensi had taken position on a store roof opposite the pier. In a matter of seconds they had taken out all three men, leaving both Callen and Emily speechless. No longer having someone supporting her, Emily fell to the ground losing consciousness.

This was becoming an all too familiar experience. Callen was once again sitting by Emily's hospital bed waiting for her to come to. And once again, it was because of him that she was here. The nurses had given her an IV for dehydration and rattled off a long list of her injuries. 4 broken ribs, a major concussion, one broken leg, 4 broken fingers, one fractured wrist, internal bleeding, a broken cheek bone…. The list went on. When they came in to do a rape kit, he became physically sick. Every time he closed his eyes he had images of what they must have done to her.

A weak voice dragged him out of his thoughts. "We've got to stop meeting like this" She said

"Yeah, well you should stop trying to get yourself killed."

"Probably" Her sad attempt at a smile only emphasized that she was hurting more than she was letting him see. She had always been every ones rock. He wondered if she remembered everything. He really hoped not.

"Can I get you anything? Water? Food?" He asked.

"I would kill for a hot shower, Excedrin, and something to read."

"Let me see what I can do."

Two hours later, Emily was in baggy sweats with her hair washed and the newest Vogue in hand. Not that she could concentrate on reading with Callen staring at her. The next three weeks were spent much like that day. Callen never left her side. He would hear her crying after waking up from a nightmare she thought he was asleep. It killed him to see her in so much emotional pain. He kept telling himself that it was the hospital and that once she was home and back at work she would be back to her old self.

Two months later, Emily was once again back at NCIS. After about an hour of pleading and a box of rare imported tea, Hetty agreed to let Emily come back on desk-duty. She had to get out of her house. She had to get her life back on track. However, any hope she had of regaining some normalcy in her life vanished the second she walked into the bullpen. Her team was all smiles until they thought she wasn't looking. Then their faces would show pity and remorse. They all knew what had happened to her. It wasn't some big secret. She was determined to be the fun and cheerful agent that they knew. Even if it was killing her inside, she couldn't stand to be looked at like she was helpless.

"Hey! Welcome back Em." Callen said with his signature crooked smile. She could always count on him to hide what he was really feeling, and although it used to really piss her off, his lack of emotion was what she needed right now.

"Hey Callen, Its good to be back." She said with the warmest smile that she could manage. "I honestly could not take one more DIY marathon. I almost demolished a wall in my kitchen because they said it would be more Zen." This made everyone laugh. Maybe she could pull this off after all.

After doing reports for 6 hours, Emily was ready to torch the paper work. Working with stupid files and a temperamental computer all day had her frustrated and in the mood to take a trip to the NCIS shooting range. Safety glasses and headphones on, Emily began shooting at the targets. The thugs holding paper guns soon took on the images of the men who had taken her only three months earlier. All at once the images that she had so desperately tried to forget flooded her mind. The crowbar to her ribs, the cigarette burns, the rape. It was all too much for her to deal with. Somehow she ended up on the floor, in his arms. She didn't remember seeing him come in or taking her in his arms. But he was there, telling her that she was going to be okay, and that he would always be there.


	7. Chapter 7

Callen's POV:

He had gone looking for her when he saw the mass of paper work abandoned on her desk. He wasn't prepared for what he saw when he found her. She was on the floor of the shooting range, crying hysterically. He did the only thing he could; he took her into his arms.

They must have sat like that for at least 20 minutes. He wished that there was something he could do. Something that would take her pain away. "Talk to me Em" He whispered. "Tell me what's going on."

"I couldn't stand the looks everyone was giving me. I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was but I can't be that girl any more. Smiling and joking around isn't possible anymore. _They _stole that from me."

"No one expects you to be the same. What they did to you….." He stopped, remembering how she looked on the pier. "What they did to you was terrible and they paid for it, but you won because you lived. You must have fought for something, for some reason to stay alive."

"I wasn't fighting for something; I was fighting for someone…."

Callen's heart sank. Of course she would be fighting for someone. Someone like Emily must have guys lining up. Perhaps an old fling from her years with the CIA. As much as he hated to ask, this could be the one thing to get her to keep fighting. "Who?" he asked quietly and prepared himself to hear the name of some guy.

"You." She replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I was fighting for you."

That was definitely not what he expected. A series of emotions surged through him. Confusion. Why him? Sadness that she endured pain for him. Joy that she cared. And finally, a sense of hopefulness from the little boy that no one had wanted. Was it possible that he had finally found someone who didn't want to throw him away?

"Me? Why?" was all that he could manage to say.

She considered his question for a minute. "I don't know. Wouldn't you do the same for me?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

It was now or never, he had to tell her how he felt. But that could mean being rejected and he didn't think that he could take her turning him down. Thirty-seven foster homes had damaged him. Opening up after being thrown away 37 times was the hardest thing that G Callen would ever have to do. But the possibility of having her was too great. "Because I love you." The seconds that passed seemed like an eternity. What she did next would be forever burned in his mind. She moved closer so that her lips slightly brushed his. It was gentle. It was not a kiss of passion. Rather, it was a kiss of acceptance.

"Thank you, " She said, "For giving me something to fight for." 


	8. Chapter 8

In the months following that night in the basement of NCIS, Emily began to heal and Callen began to allow her behind the wall where his emotions were locked away. He had never felt as close to anyone as he felt with her. The way she looked at him, almost like she knew his darkest secrets and still accepted him, scared him. G Callen had never needed anyone. Now, he found himself needing someone that he did not think that he could have. It was these thoughts that filled his mind on a cold November night. Kensi had just left to go visit family at Pendleton for the Thanksgiving holidays and Deeks was busy listing things he loved about turkey day.

"…..gravy and garlic mashed potatoes... Oh, and pumpkin pie and eggnog and…. "

"Eggnog is Christmas Deeks." Sam said, cutting the young agent off.

"Yeah, well it's good for Thanksgiving too. What about you Callen?"

"What about me?"

"What is your favorite part about Turkey day?"

"I've never had a real Thanksgiving, so I guess I don't know." He replied matter-of-factly.

"What? That's ridiculous!" Deeks screamed

"What's ridiculous?" Emily asked walking into the bullpen, steaming cup of coffee in hand.

"Callen has never had Thanksgiving dinner before!" Deeks replied, still outraged that the senior agent had never taken part in an American, no, _**the**_ American tradition.

Emily knew that Callen had never had a stable home life but she couldn't imagine him never having thanksgiving. "Well that's just not acceptable, now is it?" she replied

"No, definitely not!" Deeks blurted

"I never really put much thought into it." Callen shrugged

"My parents and my best friend will be in town, why don't you come have dinner with us. I might even let you carve the turkey." She said with a smile.

"Uh, I don't know about that…."

"Oh, Come on! It'll be fun. Besides, you really don't have a choice." She said with a smirk.

On Thanksgiving night, in a suit borrowed from Hetty, Callen wound his way up the driveway leading to Emily's house. She had asked him to come a little bit early to help her set everything out. He wasn't entirely sure that this was a good idea but as he rang the doorbell he realized that it was too late to leave now.

"Hey! I'm glad you could make it." She said while pulling him in for a hug. "Come in!"

Her house looked different than it did the last time he saw it. There were no longer blood stains marking the entranceway and fall colors were everywhere, accenting the white. However, the décor was not what seemed to hold his attention. Em looked fantastic. Her blonde hair was curled and draped over her shoulders. Her one-shoulder chocolate brown dress flowed to the ground, making her look six feet tall.

Almost forgetting, he handed her a bottle of wine that he had bought that afternoon.

"Ah, vintage Pinot, very nice. Thank you."

"Hey Em?" Callen began.

"Yes?"

"Who exactly am I supposed to be tonight?"

"G Callen, NCIS agent. My parents and Bailey know what I do. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

On that note, the doorbell rang. As soon as Emily opened the door, she was embraced by a short woman with short brown hair. Callen immediately recognized her from the picture in Emily's bedroom. She was followed by an older couple that looked exactly like his partner.

"Callen I would like you to meet my parents, Marie and David, and by sister/ best friend Bailey." She said gesturing towards her family. "And guys this is Callen."

"It's nice to meet you." He said politely

"Oh my god! Ems, you did not tell me that your "friend" was so cute!" Bailey exclaimed

"Excuse her" Emily said, slightly embarrassed. "She doesn't get out much."

"Whatever bestie, you've been holding out on me."

And with that the dinner began. Emily's parents asked about the latest at NCIS and if Emily was going to make the trip up to Angers, France for a few weeks over the summer. Bailey and Emily reminisced about their many childhood memories of sleepovers and trips to the beach. At some point before desert Emily's mom asked the question that he has been dreading to hear all night.

"So, Callen, why aren't you spending the holidays with your family?"

It was an innocent question, but it left Emily with a pained look on her face and Callen not knowing exactly what to say.

"I don't have any family. I grew up in the foster care system and I kind of got bounced around a lot."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I guess you will just have to spend the holidays with us." Her mother said with a warm smile. That was definitely not the response he was expecting. Emily reached over and put her hand on his leg. Maybe he had finally found a place where he fit in. This definitely beat staying at home and watching TV.


	9. Chapter 9

***Sorry that this update took so long and that it's so short, lots of stuff to do before the end of the school year. All comments/suggestions are needed and appreciated. Thanks for reading and I will try to update soon!***

With the last of the food put away and with Bailey and Em's parents gone, Callen let himself fall back onto the white leather couch in front of huge windows looking out over downtown L.A.

"I totally get all of the hype about thanksgiving." Callen said with a sigh. "That was amazing."

"Deeks will be very happy to hear that. But seriously, did you enjoy yourself?" Emily asked, sitting down next to him.

"It was nice." Callen said looking out the window. "You know, when I was a kid I always wondered what it would be like to have a family and have everyone together for the holidays. I guess now I know." And it's definitely something I could get used to, he added silently.

"I'm really glad that you came. My parents are pretty much in love with you." Emily laughed. "Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Sure?" Callen replied with a questioning look.

"Why did you bounce around to so many foster homes?" she asked. "Why didn't you ever just stay in one?"

That took him by surprise. The truth was way too painful. It was something that he had never told anyone, and he never would. "It's late; I've got to get going." Callen said as he stood up.

"Wait! Callen don't leave." Emily called after him. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Callen's body went stiff. This was dumb; this whole night was just some stupid charade. I will never fit in anywhere. I will never have a family. And I need to stop imagining that I could have a life with her. "Goodbye, Agent Valle"

"Agent Valle? Come on Callen! Would it kill you to let me in?"

"What the hell would you know? Your life is perfect. You have a family. I grew up in foster care. You go on trips with your friends. I don't have any need for them. What do you expect? That you can just fix me? I'm not just some project." Callen screamed. She just stood there, looking at him like he had shot her. With that image of the look of betrayal on her face forever burned into his mind, Callen left, closing the door to her and any relationship that, in the deepest corners of his mind, he had hoped for.

Damn. No wonder no one ever wanted him. He screwed everything up. She had just been trying to understand him, to let him in. She was better off without him. Maybe they were all better off without him. He was the wild card. Always breaking the rules, always putting the others in danger. Callen thought back to a time when he was on his own, only responsible for himself. He knew what he had to do.

He pulled his cell phone out of his suit pocket and dialed. "Well, well, well." A raspy voice answered. "Agent Callen, What can I do for you?"

"I want back in." Callen replied with a grimace. And with that, Callen pulled out onto the street and headed away from this life that he could never have.


	10. Chapter 10

On the way into work Friday morning, Emily cursed herself for being so stupid. She should have known that Callen would not want to talk about his past but she didn't expect him to walk out. When she saw him today she would have to do some major damage control. She would apologize and bribe him with coffee and donuts and hopefully he would let it go. As she drove along the highway, she couldn't help but admire the beautiful sun that was making its appearance above the ocean crests. Surfers were already catching the waves and families were out walking their dogs on the beach. She envied them. They were so oblivious to what goes on in their own city and they didn't care. It must be nice.

Pulling into the lot at NCIS, Emily prepared herself for the icy looks that Callen would be giving her all day. Or maybe he would act like nothing ever happened. "Thant would be even worse." she mumbled as she walked towards the bullpen. All at once she heard outraged screams and questioning sounds coming from Hetty's office. She set down her bag and walked over to see what all of the commotion was about.

"He did WHAT?" Sam yelled with a look on his face that could kill.

"I can't believe this! What was he thinking?" Kensi chimed in.

"This has got to be a joke. He wouldn't do that." Eric whispered

"What the hell is going on in here?" Emily said loudly, causing everyone to stare at her with pained looks.

Hetty just looked at her. Normally in check of her emotions, Hetty looked as if she had been crying. "Mister Callen has left NCIS. Permanently."

"What? No, there's no way." Emily answered.

"This note was on my desk when I came in this morning." Hetty said handing her a white piece of paper with Callen's messy handwriting.

_Hetty,_

_Please accept this as my official resignation from NCIS. I have no place here anymore and I have found myself a danger to the entire team. I need to figure some things out about my life. It has been an honor working with each of you._

_Callen_

The letter fell out of Emily's hand. This was her fault.

"Why would he do something this stupid?" Sam asked out loud. _Because I got too personal_

"What does he mean that he doesn't have a place here?" Deeks added._ Because I reminded him that he doesn't have a family_

"Why does he think that he is a danger to the team?" Nell asked in disbelief. _Because they used me to get to him_

"I wish we knew more about his past." Kensi said. "Then maybe we could figure out where he is going."

Emily wished that she didn't know what she does sometimes. She wished she didn't know so much about Callen and the other agents' pasts. Being as high as she was in the CIA made her privy to quite a bit of information about her team. For example, she knew that Sam was divorced with two kids that knew nothing about the real reason why their father was never there. They think that he runs a private security firm and that he had a family on the side thanks to an NCIS undercover mission gone terribly wrong. His wife broke it off and took the kids, not able to blow his cover; Sam had no choice but to let it happen. She knew that Deeks had shot his own father at a young age in self-defense. The guilt led him to drugs and a long stint in rehab before getting clean and joining the police academy. She knew that after Kensi's dad was murdered she sank into a depression and still regularly attends therapy sessions, not that she would ever admit to it. All of these are things that she wished she didn't know and she would never tell anyone. But there was one thing that kept her up at night. She knows who Callen's parents are and she knows what the G stands for. She also knew that if he knew, it would destroy him. She had to go find him and she had to go without the team. They couldn't know about Callen. She didn't know where she would start. She didn't know how to explain all of this to Hetty. She didn't know if she should. One thing she did know, she had to find Callen before he found out the truth about his past.


	11. Chapter 11

Special Agent G Callen found himself standing in front of a large mahogany door with men in suits on either side. He was at the office of a man that knew everything about everybody. He was only known as Escorpion and was behind a number of crime rings in the world. On any other day, Callen would have tried to take this man down, but today, he needed answers. All logical thought went out the window when he walked into the large office.

"Ah, Agent Callen. NCIS, I believe." Said a man with a thick Spanish accent sitting with his back facing G. "I must warn you that if you try anything…. Well let's just say you will never get the answers you so desperately want."

"I'm not here on NCIS business." Callen said. "I want to know about my past."

"Come now agent Callen, you don't expect me to just give you that information, do you?" The man said with a hit of amusement in his voice.

"What do I have to do?" Callen said, preparing himself for the worst.

"Hmm, eager are we? I want you to kill the person who murdered your parents and quite a few of their friends."

Thoughts began to swarm around in Callen's mind. His parents were murdered? Why would anyone want to kill them? Why did this man even care?

Sensing the confusion of the agent, Escorpion began to speak. "Your parents were Amelia and Alexei Cherkesov. Alexei was a former member of the KGB and he met your mother during a period of living in America. When you were three they put you and your sister up for adoption because they didn't believe it was safe. Your father had many different agencies after him because of his past in the KGB. They continued to keep an eye on you until, their death 5 years ago."

Callen could barely control his emotions. His parents had been alive all this time? He was Russian? Did his sister know who they were? An overwhelming sense of rage began to overtake him. "Who killed them?"

"Well you see Agent Callen, that's where it gets interesting."

"Tell me who he is, now!" Callen screamed, causing the armed guards to step forward. He was going to make that bastard pay for what he did to his parents.

"Why don't we just take a look?" The man said just as a TV screen came to life in front of him. The film was fuzzy and Callen could just make out an older couple laughing and walking to their car. The man held the door open for his female companion before getting behind the wheel. Those were his parents. As the man turned the key, the car exploded in vivid orange and red hues. In a matter of seconds, all that was left of the car was the charred skeleton. The camera then cut to a woman holding a detonator in one hand and a sniper rifle in the other. She was behind this. Callen watched as the figure abandoned her equipment and turned to leave. For the briefest of seconds, the camera caught a glimpse of her face and the video stopped.

"No!" Callen gasped, not believing what his eyes were seeing. "This has got to be a mistake, she wouldn't." Callen allowed his eyes to fall back on the frozen screen. Standing in all black, with her hair in a tight bun was Emily, looking as relaxed as ever. He had trusted her. He loved her. She had murdered the only family that he had. He was going to kill her.


	12. Chapter 12

**I just wanted to thank anyone who reviewed. As busy as I am right now, every time I read a review or see that someone has added this to their favorite stories it makes me want to write another chapter. By the way, CH 13 is going to be pretty crazy and I can't wait for you guys to read it! I hope you keep reading and reviewing!**

"What exactly are you trying to tell me Miss Valle?" The petite woman demanded.

"I'm sorry Hetty but I need to get out of here and sort some things out." Emily replied. She hated to do this to the team, now two people short, but she had to find Callen.

"These things wouldn't have anything to do with Agent Callen's decision to leave now would they?" Hetty said with a knowing look.

"Goodbye Hetty." Emily said before making her way out of NCIS. Stopping, she turned around and called back "Tell the team that I'm sorry." And with that, Emily walked out of the NCIS office for what she knew would be the last time. She was not one to cry. Hell, she had been in unimaginable pain many times. She had watched her partners die in her arms. And yet, walking out of that office was far worse. It was only a matter of time before they found out what she had done. They would hate her. She hated herself. Not for what she had done, no, that was part of her job. Emily Valle hated herself for not telling Callen, for getting close to him.

She remembered when she first found out that she had killed his parents. When she first met him, she had no clue. To her, he was just another cock agent with a past. Then the pieces started to come together. He had no parents and no records. He spoke fluent Russian with a perfect accent. He had stayed with a Russian family until the father had been killed. She finally used her influence with the Agency to pull up old records, and that's when she found it. Amelia and Alexei Cherkesov had two children Aimee, later changed to Amy, and Gregori, later changed to Gage. The sole reason for their existence being that they were to be trained to eventually join the Serge, a Russian agency that was well known for their highly skilled assassins. Emily's first real mission, at the age of 23, was to take Amelia and Alexei down. She had no idea that she would later run into their son. She might have ended up killing him as well if not for his older sister running away from the serge and placing them in an orphanage. She must have believed it to be a better future for her baby brother and herself. And the rest, as they say, is history. Callen bounced around from one foster home to another before eventually ending up with the CIA and then NCIS.

She had to tell him. He would hate her, but he had to know. Hands shaking, she picked up her phone, quickly typed "we need to talk", paused for a minute, and pressed send. She had to admit that she was relieved when her phone vibrated signaling a new message. The message simply said "my house. 1 hour." It was in that moment that Emily knew. Callen had somehow found out and he was angry. She would not know until she got to his house, how truly outraged he had become.


	13. Chapter 13

**Please don't forget to review; they make me want to write faster!**

As Callen carefully checked his gun, he wondered how it had come to this. A mere 72 hours earlier, he would never have imagined what he was about to do. He trusted her more than anyone. He never thought she would lie to him, especially not about something like this. She had killed two innocent people, his parents, his only family. She must have known who he was and had been messing around with him all this time. But why? Did she want him dead as well? It didn't matter now. She would pay for all of the hurt she had caused him, for all of those years spent getting abused in foster care. She had betrayed him, now she would feel his pain. He had already called his contact with Escorpion and informed him of what he was about to do.

Callen sat down on the couch, gun in hand, and waited. He didn't have to wait long because about five minutes later Emily was at his door. Always on time, Callen thought and almost laughed.

"Come in." he said before she had a chance to knock.

Emily slowly opened the door, a look of relief evident on her face. "Thank God, Callen. I thought something had happened. What is going…?"

"Shut up!" Callen said, cutting her off, his voice full of venom. "You know exactly what's going on you deceitful bitch."

"I'm sorry," Was all that she could manage to say.

"You're_ SORRY? YOU'RE SORRY?" _he spat. "That's all you have to say? You murdered my parents! And you let me believe that you were my friend!"

"I didn't know they were your parents when we first met." Emily said trying fruitlessly to appease the situation.

"You think that makes it better?" He screamed. "They were just innocent people!"

A look of confusion spread across Emily's face. Innocent? "Callen, they….." she began but he soon cut her off.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear any more of your lies. You took them from me and now you are going to pay!" Callen said as he raised his gun. She had been so caught up in their conversation that she hadn't even seen the small black gun that he had been holding.

A look of sad realization spread across her face. "Callen, please don't…"

"It's too late." And with that Callen pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into her abdomen. He wanted her to suffer. Emily fell to the floor, not even attempting to pick up her own weapon. Why wasn't she fighting back? He shot her again, this time in the shoulder. She cried out in pain.

"This is for my parents." Callen said as he shot her one final time, in the chest. Her blue eyes, now bright with tears, met his for the last time. "I'm so sorry." She whispered before her head rolled to the side and her eyes closed forever.

The sound of clapping brought him back into the real world. "Bravo, Agent Callen. I honestly didn't think you had it in you." Escorpion was standing with his back against the wall. "I was honestly shocked that you believed what I told you. I thought that it would take time to convince you but you really did eat up all those lies." He said with a masochistic smile.

"What do you mean?" Callen demanded.

"Well, Emily did kill your parents, but she was trying to prevent an attack that they were about to carry out on LAX. It would have been far worse than any terrorist attack this country had seen. Unfortunately, your parents, my colleagues, were killed by a clever CIA agent before it could be carried out."

Images began to swim in Callen's head. The first time he met her and that beautiful smile that always brightened his day. The Thanksgiving that he spent with her parents and how that had been the first time that he had felt like he belonged. How she looked in the morning with faded jeans, a loose white v-neck, and Ray bands. How when the sun hit her blonde hair, it just seemed to glow. How much he loved her. "Oh god." Callen said as if he had finally put all of the pieces together. No wonder why Escorpion wanted Emily dead, she had ruined one of his most ambitious terror plots. His parents weren't innocent at all. They were murderers. Emily had just been doing her job.

"Well, I suppose I should be going now." The Spanish man laughed, making his way to the door. The sound of bullets rang in the air once more as the man dropped to his knees. Callen lowered his gun before kneeling beside Emily's body and taking her into his arms one last time. He had been so stupid. Why didn't he realize what was going on?

He didn't know how long he sat there before Sam, Kensi, and Deeks, all with guns drawn, ran into the house. They said nothing as they looked down at the lifeless agent in Callen's arms. Deeks was the first to move and went outside to call an ambulance. Sam knelt down beside Callen and tried to pry Emily's body out of G's bloody arms. Kensi made the dreaded call to Hetty.

"Hetty?" Kensi said, trying to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"Yes dear, what's wrong?" Hetty asked, her voice full of concern.

"It's Emily, she's uh…." And with that, Kensi lost her resolve. Deeks came back into the house and took the phone from Kensi. He held Kensi, who was now in hysterics, with one hand and held the phone to his ear with the other.

"Detective Deeks? Can you please tell me what is going on?"

"Emily's been shot. You need to meet us at the hospital." With that, Deeks hung up the phone.

"Sam?" Deeks asked tentatively.

"She has a pulse, but I don't know how much longer she can make it."

"What h-happened?" Kensi managed to stutter.

"I don't know, But whoever did this is going to pay."

Sensing that Kensi was okay, Deeks went over to where Callen was sitting with his back against the wall looking like he had seen a ghost. "Hey man, you okay?" Deeks asked, putting a hand on Callen's shoulder. The only response he got was a glassy stare from the agent. In that moment, Deeks saw something in Callen's eyes that he had never seen before…..fear.

**So, should I end this here? Have Emily die? I'm not sure if I want this to have a happy ending or not. Your thoughts?**


	14. Chapter 14

Callen didn't know how many minutes passed by. He didn't know how he ended up in the Charger with Sam keeping a death grip on the wheel as he followed the ambulance. He didn't know how he ended up in this chair. He didn't know why they were at a hospital. He shot Emily. He killed her. Didn't he? Callen had no control over anything at that moment, and that terrified him. He didn't know if he was angry at being lied to or disappointed that his parents were terrorists. Did that somehow affect the outcome of his life? What the hell was wrong with him?

"G! Man, listen to me!" Sam said, shaking him out of the trance like state that he had been in for who knows how long. He was sitting in a deserted hospital waiting room. Deeks and Kensi were off in a corner, quietly sipping coffee and looking as if they were at a wake.

"G, what the hell happened to Emily? Was that other guy the one who shot her? Who is he? G! Damn it, answer me!"

"I shot her." Callen said in a sad whisper.

"You what? No, listen man, you're in shock but I need you to focus." Sam said looking Callen in the eyes. "Who shot Emily?"

"I did it. I thought…. I thought she had done something, but he lied to me. I killed her."

Sam honestly had no idea what to make of this. He let his hand fall from his partners shoulder and instinctively backed away. Who was _HE_? And what had he lied about? Why would G shoot Emily? Callen had noticed Sam's sudden shift in position. '_He must think I'm a monster' _Callen thought. At that realization, he broke down in tears. The automatic doors to the lobby opened and Hetty came rushing in.

"Where is she Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked with an urgent tone in her voice.

Sam walked away from G to meet Hetty across the room. "She's in surgery, it doesn't look good." Sam said sadly.

"What happened?"

"G seems to think that…. Well…"

"Well what, Mr. Hanna?"

"That he shot her." Sam replied quietly. He didn't see how it was possible.

Hetty looked confused for the briefest of seconds before sitting down next to Callen, who was still in hysterics. Even she had never seen Callen so distraught.

"Mr. Callen?" Hetty tried. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"Hetty put her small hand on her lead agents shoulder.

Hesitant at first, Callen told her everything about how Escorpion told him that Emily had killed his innocent parents and how he had told Emily to meet him at his house and finally, how he had shot her, only to find out that he had been played. Hetty looked troubled. She always knew that Callen's past affected him but she never thought that he would try to kill another agent, a close friend, because of it. Maybe Callen's mental state wasn't what she believed it to be.

"Is she still alive Hetty?" Callen asked with the tiniest glint of hopefulness in his eyes.

Hetty considered for a moment before answering with "Barely." She hated to do this but she couldn't lie to him. "Mr. Callen, you need to prepare yourself for the worst. It just doesn't look good."

The agent buried his head in his hands. This could not be happening. If she died, Callen's life would be over. He couldn't live with the guilt of knowing that he killed her. Hetty lightly squeezed his hand before getting up to talk to Sam.

"Hetty, how are you planning to deal with this? Have G arrested?" Sam asked quietly.

"No, I am going to say that the other man shot her and that Callen shot him." Hetty said immediately. "No one else needs to know about this Sam, including the rest of the team."

"Thank you Hetty." As confused as Sam was, he knew one thing for sure; G wasn't in his right mind tonight and he didn't want him to go to jail.

"He needs you Sam, stay with him." Hetty said gesturing to a now empty seat.

"Shit."Now where had he gone?


	15. Chapter 15

**So I've taken into consideration what people either reviewed or messaged me and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to review!**

While Hetty and Sam were talking, Callen decided what he was going to do. What he NEEDED to do. Doing what he did best, Callen quietly slipped out of the waiting room and made his way to a stairwell. It was dark and depressing. Much like his life had been. Callen slowly climbed the stairs, trying not to put too much thought into what he was about to do. Reaching the top of the stairs, Callen tried the door in front of him. Locked. With one swift move, Callen had the door swinging open. He walked out on to the roof of the hospital and silently cursed himself for not wearing sunglasses. Not that he needed them anymore. The NCIS agent purposefully walked toward the edge of the roof and stopped.

He was such a coward, taking the easy way out. But Callen saw no other option. He couldn't go back and face the team. He couldn't bear to see the looks on their faces when they found out that he had killed Emily. He had seen it in Sam's eyes. The shock, the disgust. He didn't want to wake up and face that guilt every day. How could he have been so blind to what was right in front of him? He should have known. If he could only go back. No. It was too late for that. He was finally going to end this. Not that he hadn't thought about it before. Years of abuse in foster homes followed by a life of being alone had given him lots of time to contemplate taking his own life. He had even tried it once, albeit unsuccessfully, when his foster brother had been killed. He felt like it had been his fault. But this time was different, because Emily's death _was_ his fault. The image of Emily on the floor, crying out in pain, flashed across his mind. It was time.

Callen walked toward the edge of the roof and looked down. He felt at peace for the first time in a while. Unfortunately some awful racket was pulling him from this euphoria.

"G! Get the FUCK away from that edge!" he recognized Sam's voice calling out to him. "I mean it G! Now!" Callen turned slowly to face his partner and saw the fear in his eyes.

"You don't understand Sam." Callen said in a strained voice. "I can't live with the guilt of what I've done."

"G, listen, let's just go inside and talk about this, okay?" Sam said moving forward, which caused Callen to move back to his position on the edge of the roof.

"Get away from me Sam. I have to do this."

"No, G, you don't. We need you and when Emily comes out of this, she is going to need you."

"Don't lie to me Sam. I know that she won't make it out of this and even if she did, what makes you think that she would want to even see me again? I shot her Sam!" Callen screamed, now on the verge of crying again.

"G, I would never lie to you. I don't know what happened back there but I know Emily, and she would never want you to do this." Sam's anxiety was growing every second. He wasn't getting through to Callen and he was running out of time.

"My entire life, I've been screwing everything up. Thirty-seven foster families wanted me, my parents didn't want me, the CIA didn't want me, and Emily DOES NOT want me." Callen screamed, all logical thought now gone.

"I know but…."

"NO! You don't know. You will never know what it was like to be abandoned by 37 different families. As a kid, I would sit outside and watch parents walk by, laughing with their kids. I would wonder what was so wrong with me that no one even wanted to be around. I wondered why they would hurt me and dreamed of the day when I would find a family that would treat me like they loved me. But that never happened and now I know why. I was just a mistake and all I do is screw things up. I'm tired of lying Sam. I hate pretending to be someone else and then having to go back to my actual life. I just want this to end."

Sam just stood there in complete silence. He knew that G's past had its own demons but he didn't know how much his partner had been struggling with them. "G, how can you possibly think that you screw everything up? You're the main reason why this team is still alive. We _need_ you."

"You don't need me. Please Sam, just go back inside." Callen's clear blue eyes met his partners. "_**Please**_."

"No, G, I am not going to let you…" Sam was cut off by the sound of his cell. Putting the phone to his ear, he never kept his eyes off of his partner. "What is it Deeks?" Sam said with a grimace. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Grouchy much?" Deeks joked. "Emily's out of surgery, she's asking for Callen." At this, Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, we'll be right there."

"I'm not going anywhere Sam." Callen said, once again making his way back to the ledge.

"Emily is asking for you." Sam said, mentally hoping that this would loosen G's resolve. And it did. For the briefest of seconds, Callen's face lit up.

"She's alive?"

"Yeah man, and she's going to be really pissed if you aren't down there in the next five minutes." Sam said with a bright smile.

"I just… I don't want to hurt her anymore." Callen said

"So, you think that jumping off this building won't hurt her?"

"I guess you're right." Callen said, now more embarrassed than anything. He didn't know what he would be walking into when he went to Emily's room. She might hate him, but at least she would be alive. That's all he needed.

"Come on G, let's go, okay?"

"Sam you won't….."

"Tell anyone? No, but do me a favor, and don't EVER do this again. I can't lose my partner." With that, Callen and Sam half walked, half ran, to Emily's room. Somehow she had pulled through and both agents needed to see her for themselves.

**What do you think? Will Emily hate Callen? Will Sam tell Hetty? Review, review, review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Heart pounding, Callen stood in front of room 512. 'Prepare for the worst' he told himself. Truthfully, nothing could prepare him for the possibility that she would hate him. Before he could lose his nerve, Callen opened the heavy door and solemnly walked into the cold room. Hetty was sitting on a chair next to the hospital bed, quietly talking to Emily. Seeing him come in, Hetty got up to leave.

"Well hello Mr. Callen, nice of you to finally join us. She said with a smile. "I will be by later dear." She whispered to Emily before exiting the room. Emily tried to sit up but then grimaced at the spasms of pain that made their way through her body. God, she looked bad, Callen thought.

"Sure took you long enough to get down here." Emily said with a tired smile. Callen managed a small smile in return. She didn't seem like she hated him, at least not yet.

"Well are you going to sit down? Or just stand there looking pretty?" She said. This brought on a full smile, something rarely seen from Callen, as he moved to sit down next to her. She just had a way of putting him at ease. "You think I'm pretty?" He said with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe."

"I'm sorry." He had to say it. The reason why he was here just couldn't be ignored.

"I know. So am I." Her blue eyes, eyes that he thought he would never see again, looked up at him. "I should have told you about your parents and what I knew about your past."

"I'm not entirely sure I would have believed you."

"You still had the right to know. I didn't want to hurt you."

"And instead, I hurt you." Callen mumbled, not able to meet her gaze anymore.

"That's all in the past, I forgive you. So don't beat yourself up over it, Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Hey Em?"  
>"Hmm?"<p>

"What does the G stand for?"

A surprised look spread across Emily's face. He doesn't already know? "Your birth name was Gregori but when your parents changed it to Gage before placing you in foster care." She replied hesitantly.

"Gage….?" Callen mused. "It seems….."

"Off?" Emily tried

"Yeah, it's weird." He looked almost…. Disappointed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I, well I guess I thought that knowing my real name would somehow make everything else make sense. But it just doesn't seem like me. It doesn't mean anything."

"That's because it's not who you are. To us, you will always be Callen or G." Emily said with an encouraging smile.

"Why don't you ever call me G?"

"In case you haven't noticed, only Sam calls you G. I would hate to piss him off. I don't need any more bullet holes." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted it. But Callen didn't seem to notice.

"You can call me whatever you want."

"I have to say, I was hoping for more of an embarrassing name like Garfield or Gandalf."

"Do you want me to get one of those big nurses to come in and give you a sponge bath?" Callen said his voice deadpan.

"Gandalf? Really? This is not freaking Lord of the Rings you know?"

"Wait? What? The G stands for Gandalf? That is SO cool!" Deeks exclaimed as he walked into the room.

"Gandalf? G, that's lame, even for you." Sam said as he made his way inside.

Kensi was trying her hardest not to laugh at the pained face on the lead agent. "Gandalf, nice."

Even Hetty was having a hard time controlling her facial expressions. "Mr. Callen, the G? It stands for Gandalf? We could get that changed, you know?"

"Great, now look what you've done." Callen said, glancing sideways at Emily, who was now almost in tears from laughing.

"No, my name is _**not**_ Gandalf. Emily just thinks that she's funny. The G stands for Gage."

"Thank God." Hetty said with a sigh. "I would hate to have to write that on your file."

"I like Gandalf better." Deeks said as Callen shot him a warning glance.

"Well, I'm still calling you G." Sam said.

"And I'm still calling you Callen." Kensi added.

"Can I call you Gandalf anyways?" Deeks said and then winced in pain as the TV remote hit him in the head. "So is that a no?"

"Yes."

"So I can?"

"No."

"But you said…"  
>"Deeks, you can NOT call me Gandalf."<p>

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Emily asked before Callen could kill Deeks.

"We just thought we'd come visit our favorite agent." Kensi replied.

"So, you better hurry up and get back to NCIS." Sam added.

"Cant wait."

"Well, why don't we all leave you to get some sleep?" Hetty said, signaling for Callen and the team to leave. "If you need anything Miss Valle, just call."

"I will Hetty."With that, they left the room, leaving Callen standing awkwardly by Emily's bed.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I guess."

"Or you could come back tonight with a movie and keep me company."

"Yeah, okay, sure. I'll be back tonight." Callen began walking towards the door but stopped at the sound of his name.

"Callen?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I am now."

**Okay, so what do you want to see more of? What did you think? Happy that no one died? Make sure to review!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey you." Callen said, latte in hand as he stepped into Emily's room. "Ready for physio?"

"Eww. No." she replied. PT was the worst part of getting shot. It was slower and more painful.

"It's good to know that you have such a positive attitude about it." Callen said sarcastically.

"Yeah well I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I need to get out of this hospital." Emily said, smiling as she took a sip of her drink. "Thanks for this."

"No problem. I figured that caffeine and sugar would make you less likely to shoot your physical therapist."

"Ha Ha. Very funny."

A knock had them both turning towards the door. A tall and muscular man walked in the room, clad in basketball shorts and an under armor tank. Great. Her PT was an exercise freak.

"Hi, I'm Bret. You must be Emily." The man said, extending his hand.

"Yeah." Emily said, taking it.

"Are you ready to get started?" Bret exclaimed with way too much enthusiasm.

Emily smiled her cheesiest smile and replied "Absolutely!" with mock enthusiasm. Bret, however, remained unphased.

"Great, then let's get started!"

Before Emily allowed herself to be rolled out of her room, she turned to Callen, made a gun with her hand and pulled the figurative trigger. Callen snorted before following Emily to the PT room. Once there, Bret resumed his over enthusiasm.

"Okie dokie. Well let's start by getting you to stand up."

With a grimace Emily managed to stand up and clutch the walker that had been placed in front of her. For someone as active and stubborn as Emily was, this was embarrassing. She couldn't even stand up straight. It was pathetic.

It went on like this for weeks. In one morning session, Bret had insisted in coming to her room to discuss what he called a "plan of action." Emily was restless and the two months that she has spent in the hospital, unable to do anything, had put her in a particularly bad mood. Too make matters worse, Callen was late with her contraband latte. This was evident in the scowl that overtook her face when Bret walked into her room along with two of her doctors.

"Good morning Emily!" Bret said with his usual brightness. She really wished that she has a taser with her. He wouldn't be so damn peppy with bolts of electricity flowing through his body. The thought brought an immediate smile to the agents face.

"So, why exactly are we wasting our time in here instead of in the PT room?" Emily asked, an obvious tinge of annoyance to her voice.

"I'm going to be frank with you Miss Valle." One of the doctors began. "We aren't satisfied with the progress that you have made in your therapy sessions."

Yeah? Well he's not the one with three bullet holes is he? "Listen, in time I'll get better, stronger."

"Well, that's the problem, we don't see that happening."

"Wait, so what are you saying?"

"Your career as an agent is over. Most likely you will be confined to a wheel chair. I'm sorry."

"Get out."

"Emily….." Bret started.

"GET OUT NOW!" She screamed and they all quickly exited. This was impossible. There must be a mistake. What was she if she wasn't an agent? How could this be happening to her? She didn't want to spend the rest of her life in a wheel chair getting pity stares from the team. Why was this happening to her? The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts.

"I SAID TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Callen walked in the door, latte in hand "Whoa! What's wrong?"

"Oh it's you."

"Yeah. I'm afraid to ask who you thought I was." Not really hearing what he was saying, things started to become very clear in Emily's mind. It was him. This was why things were happening to her. He shot her and now her life was over.

Seeing the distressed look in her eyes, Callen set the latte down on the little table by her bed and took her hand in his. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You're what's wrong! Why didn't you just take a better shot that night? Why didn't you just kill me then? Because I might as well be dead now!"

Callen was confused. He thought that they were good. "Em listen, I don't know what's going on but…"

"What's going on is that I can't be an agent anymore. In two months of PT I can barely stand up. If I can't be an agent anymore then my life is over. It's the only thing that I have right now."

"You have me. No matter what, I will be here. You don't need to be an agent Em."

"I have you? Why would I want _you_? You tried to kill me, remember?"

"I know, but I thought…."

"What did you think Callen? That we could get married? Have kids? That you could go back to NCIS while I'm stuck at home making dinner? That's not what I want in life. I have spent my life devoted to my career. Without that, I'm nothing."

"I understand that this is my fault and I will spend the rest of my life hating what I did but that doesn't change who you are. An agent is NOT who you are."

"I don't know what to do."

"Keep trying."

"I can't anymore Callen, I'm tired of trying."

"Who _are_ you? Because I don't think I know you anymore. The Emily I know would have punched someone in the face if they told her that she couldn't do something. She would never have sat in her room having a pity party. So what do you say? Are you ready to kick some ass?"

"I hate you sometimes." Emily said. "But you're right."

From that day on, Callen and Emily spent seven hours a day in the PT room. Every time Emily fell, he was there to pick her up. Every time she wanted to quit, he told her to suck it up. When she could finally walk without assistance, he brought in pizza and beer and they ate it behind her bed. When she was ready to go home, he went with her. When she started her morning runs again, he went with her even though he hated running. After about the second week, he could barely keep up. And when she finally walked back into NCIS for the first time in eight months, he was by her side.

He could have just left her that day in the hospital. He could have given up and let her wallow in self-pity. But he didn't. He stayed with her and was there for the days that she wanted to quit. She would never forget those months spent with him, because it was in these months that she truly fell in love with him. It was also in these months that Callen found his family. She was his future now and nothing else mattered. He finally felt complete. It was then that Callen realized what he had been missing all of his life, what he had been waiting for, longing for…. Emily. And now that he had her, he was never going to let her go.

When Emily had walked into NCIS for the first time, Callen never could have imagined how she would change his life. Needless to say, she was not what he expected.

**Yay! So it seems as though Callen is getting his happy ending after all. Review and let me know what you think! By the way, this story isn't over. I still have a few more ideas that I want to play around with before ending this. **


	18. Chapter 18

"God, I don't know why you insist on blasting music on the way to work." Callen's voice echoed as he walked into NCIS.

"Because it relaxes me. If you have such a problem with it, you can walk to work tomorrow." Emily joked. She had been playing Maroon 5 on the way to work this morning and Callen was less than thrilled.

The sound of Eric's shrill whistle interrupted their argument and left them heading up the stairs to the war room. Once the team was present, Eric and Nell began the briefing.

"Okay, so in the past two months, eight couples have been murdered on this cruise ship." Eric said, gesturing towards a picture of an expensive looking ocean liner. "Same M.O. each time, tied together and then executed."

"How come this hasn't been on the news?" Callen asked, his eyes trained on the screen in front of him.

"And why are we even giving this the time of day?" Sam added.

"Well…." Eric started.

"The company has tried to keep it out of the news, bad for business I guess." Nell added enthusiastically, cutting Eric off. "And Sam, we care because the last couple that was murdered, well, they were both marines."

"Alright." Callen said, taking his usual lead. "So we go in undercover as passengers and staff. Sounds pretty straight forward."

"Not exactly Callen." Eric said bringing up the cruise brochure. "This is a newlyweds cruise. You will have to go in pairs."

"Okay, Emily's with me. Deeks is with Kensi. Sam gets a staff position."

"There is NO way in hell that I am getting on that boat!" Kensi protested. "I get sea sick."

"Okay, well Deeks you're with Sam then." Callen said with a smile.

"With me?" Sam asked, not fully understanding what his partner had said.

"No… no no no. NO!" Deeks exclaimed.

"This is not up for discussion. We need two couples."

"Then I will go with Emily and you can go with Deeks." Sam suggested.

"Who would honestly believe that you would be married to Emily? No, I will go with Emily." Deeks countered.

"No. Now, let's get busy on some aliases."

After three hours and lots of complaining from Deeks and Sam, their backstopping was done and their new identities had been decided on. Emily and Callen would be Madison and Brad Parker from Santa Barbara, California. Ages 27 and 28 respectively. They met at UCLA where she was a cheerleader and he was on the soccer team. He was a stock broker and she was a photographer. They were extremely wealthy and got married in Italy three months ago.

Deeks and Sam would be Nick and Eddie Ortega from Las Vegas. Ages 25 and 30. They met at thy gym where Eddie was a physical trainer. Nick was a dog groomer but they now own a cupcake shop. This had been Kensi's idea and before they could protest, Eric had entered it into the system.

Complete with new wardrobes from Hetty, the team set out for Miami. Once at the harbor, the team split up and made their way to the ship, where they were greeted by an over enthusiastic man who promptly checked them in and handed them itineraries as well as leis.

Callen and Emily headed up to their room to unpack and set up their equipment before the first event, a "Welcome Assembly", started two hours from then. Walking into their room, Emily was shocked. She knew that her alias was loaded but this was amazing. Even Callen, who didn't take the time to enjoy any luxuries, was taken aback by the suite that was bigger than his house. He made a mental note to thank Hetty when this was over.

Deeks and Sam were not so lucky. They were stuck in an economy room with a small king bed. This was going to be the longest week of their lives.

Deeks, being the three year old that he is, immediately ran and threw himself on the bed and screamed "I call dibs on the bed."

"Very funny." Sam said before literally picking Deeks up and setting him on the small couch in front of the 10 inch TV. "I get the bed."

"But Eddie, were supposed to be in love. We should share the bed." Deeks pouted, only to receive a look of death from Sam.

"If you ever say that again, I will shoot you and feed you to the fish."

"Whoa! There will be no feeding of Deeks to the fish." Emily said, walking into the small room.

"Did you hear what he said?" Sam said exasperation evident in his voice.

"You two are supposed to be married and in love, so start acting like it."

"Emily's right." Callen added. "Today let's spend some time mingling and see what we can come up with. See if anyone seems off, or bitter. Emily and I are going to go down to the shops and see how much damage we can do on this credit card."

"No problem." Sam said.

"Okay, so how do we want to…" Deeks began but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

When Sam went to open it, he was met with an enveloping hug by a short man in a fairy outfit.

"Helllloooooooo." Said the glitter wing clad man. "We're your neighbors! I'm Ted and this is Max." he said gesturing to a tall black man standing behind him. "So I guess we both went for the dark chocolate." Ted exclaimed to Deeks with a sly smile.

"Oh boy." Deeks said under his breath. This was going to be one interesting assignment.

**Don't forget to review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**This chapter is because of a request from two girls that are a little bit obsessed. Thank you for reviewing/ messaging. LOVE YOU! As long as you keep reading, I will keep writing. **

Sam and Deeks reluctantly agreed to go for drinks with Ted and Max that night. Although they got no information on the case, they learned that the purple fairy was only one of many costumes that Ted had brought on the trip. He was now rocking a full out Elvis outfit, wig and all. They talked about where they were from and general interests but when Max asked how they had met, Sam looked to Deeks to take the lead.

"Well, it really is the cutest story." Deeks began. "I was at the gym doing my usual hour on the treadmill, when up comes this giant chocolate mountain of a man. Needless to say I was beside myself."

Sam could barely contain his laughter. Mountain of a man? Well, he was pretty good looking.

"I thought he was going to mug me!" Deeks continued. Wait what? Mug him? He makes it seem like I was some gang banger.

"That's so hillaroo!" Ted laughed. Hillaroo? Sam Hanna was an ex Navy Seal and an NCIS agent. He did not have to put up with this.

"Well." Sam chimed in. "I just wanted to tell him that putting the treadmill on the lowest setting was not going to do anything for his scrawny body." This resulted in a sarcastic smile from Deeks.

"So anyways, later that week I get the most unexpected call from Mr. Romantic over here, asking me to walk his dog. He had actually gone and gotten my name from the front desk."

"That's so cute!" Ted cooed. He was eating this up.

"So I get to Eddie's house and this tiny white Chihuahua with a pink dress comes running out to greet me."

"_This was just getting better and better."_ Sam thought.

"So we take Princess for a nice long walk by the lake and the rest is history." Deeks finished with a smile and put his hand on Sam's leg, who then proceeded to slap it off. Ted was in tears now and Max was consoling him. Deeks hadn't found the story particularly sad but apparently Ted found it moving.

"That was beautiful." Ted sobbed.

"Look, Ted, they are doing karaoke, your favorite." Max said, in an attempt to lighted the mood.

"Ah! It's fate!" Ted exclaimed, his face brightening. "We have to do it!"

"Uhhhh, I'm not really sure about that." Sam said.

"Come on sugar cakes. You can do it." Deeks said, nudging Sam towards the stage.

"_Damn."_ Sam thought. _"I don't get paid enough for this."_

But Sam went up anyways and chose "This Is Why I'm Hot" Sam was truly getting into it until his face scanned the crowd and his eyes met Callen's. Callen and Emily were sitting at a table, sipping wine, laughing hysterically. He was never going to hear the end of this.

When it was Deeks' turn he selected "Do you know?" by Enrique Iglesias.

"I would like to dedicate this song to the hunkiest husband in the world." This sent Callen and Emily into another fit of laughter.

"_Do you know what it feels like loving someone who's in a rush to throw you away?"_ Deeks sang, only slightly off tune. _"Do you know what it feels like to be the last one to know the lock on the door has changed?" _ Even Hetty, who was watching everything unfold via security cameras, was having difficulty gaining her composure.

When the song was finally over, the room gave Deeks a standing ovation and began to chant "Kiss him! Kiss him!" Emily was staring at Callen, mouth agape. Sam was glaring at Deeks and it didn't require telepathy to know what he was thinking. _"There is no way in hell."_

But the crowd refused to take no for an answer. Sam, not wanting to blow his cover, got up on stage and slowly kissed Deeks on the cheek. The boo from the crowd was deafening.

"Okay let's just get this over with before an angry mob decides to kill us." Deeks said under his breath.

"Fuck."

So right there, in front of three hundred people, Callen, Emily, and most likely Hetty, Kensi, Eric, and Nell, Sam kissed Deeks, and not just a peck, a full blown French kiss. This elicited a roar of approval from the drunken on lookers and Sam dragged Deeks off stage and towards their room.

"Do you want to talk about…?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Deeks, if you ever bring this up. I will…"

"Kill me. I know I know."

"No_, I_ won't kill you."

"I will tell Hetty that you think her outfits are ugly. And _she_ will kill you."

**It was nice writing something funny for a change. I hope you enjoyed it but I promise that the next chapter will be back on topic…. Maybe..**


	20. Chapter 20

Four days into the newlyweds cruise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Emily and Callen had invited a few other couples back to their cabin for dinner. The pair had quickly made their presence known as the wealthiest couple on the cruise, an image that both Callen and Emily enjoyed. Emily's white Dolce cocktail dress perfectly contrasted Callen's black Armani suit. Together, their outfits had a price tag of about $20,000 and Hetty had made it clear that if they came back ruined, she would be less than pleased.

At precisely 8 pm, there was a knock on the door and Callen mentally prepared himself for a night of boredom. He had gone almost a week without shooting anyone and these newlyweds were driving him crazy. The reason they were hosting this dinner, as Emily had reminded him earlier, was to attract attention and hopefully get the killer interested.

"Oh my god! This is amazing." Marina Barden exclaimed as she walked into their room with her husband Josh and Christi and Keenan Courbet. Marina and Josh were both well off artists that lived in Vermont. Christi and Keenan were from Australia and were teachers. They were nice enough but Callen was bored and this dinner party couldn't be over soon enough.

As they all sat down at the large dining table with a spectacular view of the water, waiters brought out trays of lobster thermidor. Callen had to admit, the food was great and you couldn't beat the view. It didn't hurt that he got to dress up and pretend to be married to a beautiful blonde either. The three couples talked about recent vacations, work, and future plans throughout dinner.

"So, Madison. Tell us about the wedding. It was in Italy, right?" Christi probed. "I bet it was just amazing."

Emily smiled. She knew everything about her fake wedding. They had even taken professional photos. "Well, we married at Brad's villa in Tuscany. It wasn't a large wedding, just about fifty guests, but it was beautiful."

"You must show us photos!" Marina exclaimed.

"Brad, will you go get the album?" Emily asked.

Callen came back with a gold wedding album with a black and white photo of them on the front. As the other couples gasped their way through the album, Callen couldn't help but remember the day they took those photos. They had literally gone through an entire wedding and reception. Emily looked beautiful in a strapless white gown with a long train. He remembered tearing up as she walked down the aisle for their sham wedding. He couldn't help it. She was stunning. Looking across at her now, the setting sun making her hair look like gold, she still is. The shrill voice of Marina shook him from the reverie.

"That dress must have cost a fortune!" Emily just smiled.

He was in way over his head. He wanted all of this to be real. He wanted this life. He wanted her. After this mission, he thought. After this assignment is over, I will tell her.

The rest of the night consisted of more stories and champagne. When their 'friends' were gone and the staff had cleared away dishes and leftover food, Callen and Emily were tired, and not completely sober.

"That was fun." Emily said, leaning back on the bed.

"Oh, yeah. Fun isn't exactly the word I'd use." Callen snorted. "Although, I enjoy pretending to be married to you. It's like having a trophy wife."

"Very funny." Emily retorted with narrowed eyes.

"Seriously, I love walking around, spending money, with a hot babe on my arm." Callen joked.

"Oh, so you think I'm hot, huh?"

"No." Callen replied, all laughter gone. "I think you're beautiful." Just like that, the conversation had turned into something deeper, something that neither of them should have been exploring.

"Callen…." Emily said in a warning tone.

"Shhh." Callen whispered, bringing his finger to lightly graze her lips.

"We can't."

"Can you honestly tell me that you don't want to?" Callen whispered into her ear.

Emily kissed him lightly as her response. This was so wrong. It was against the rules. He was her partner. Hetty was going to kill them.

Callen's kiss wiped all logical thought from her mind. The only thing that mattered now was that she loved him.

…

Emily woke up to the sound of waves crashing and the smell of coffee. With the events of the previous night in her mind, Emily put on a silk robe and made her way into the kitchen where Callen had a steaming cup of caffeine waiting for her.

Seeing Emily walk in brought a cautious smile to Callen's face. What if she thought last night was a mistake? What if it was just because they had champagne?

All doubts vanished from his mind as he received the lightest of kisses from Emily.

"Good morning." She said, still half asleep.

"Great morning." He replied.


	21. Chapter 21

"I could really get used to this." Deeks said to Sam. With no new developments on their case, the two "couples" were lounging poolside that afternoon.

"I want this whole thing to be over." Sam said. "At least Callen gets to have a hot girl with him. I'm stuck with you."

"Cupcake, are you trying to say you don't like spending time with me?" Deeks laughed, completely unfazed by Sam's admission.

In response, Sam turned and scowled at the shaggy haired detective.

On the other side of the pool, Callen and Emily were sipping pina coladas with Marina and Josh.

"So, are you guys going to the big dance tonight?" Marina asked.

"What dance?" Callen asked, looking at Emily for some help. Emily just stared at him blankly and shrugged her shoulders.

"On the last night of the cruise, there is always a big dinner and dance. It's so much fun! You two have to go."

"Sure, we'll be there." Emily said casually. Maybe their perp would choose the dance to make his move.

Emily was somewhat disappointed that they hadn't accomplished anything for this case. Even though this cruise had been fun, she felt like they had lost track of the reason why they were there. Callen's thoughts, however, were elsewhere. He was looking forward to the opportunity to go out with Emily that night. For the first time in his life, he wasn't running away when things got serious.

An hour later, Emily's phone went off. It was Eric and he had news.

"What's up Eric? Miss us yet?" Emily joked.

"Of course we miss you. But that's not why I called. I finally got some intel on the case." Eric said, the sounds of typing evident in the background. "I was looking at a crew member, Lucas Matthews. His wife left him four days after they were married. Long story short, he went nuts and now she has a restraining order. I am sending details and pictures to your phones now"

"Well, he definitely has motive, we'll keep an eye on him. Thanks Eric." Emily said and hung up. After filling in the rest of the team, a plan of action was in place. They would all go to the party tonight and see if he made a move. It all seemed pretty simple so the four agents went back to their rooms to get ready.

"What do you think of this tie?" Callen asked, holding up a black silk tie.

"Ummm. It's nice fine Callen." Emily laughed. "Since when do you care what your tie looks like?"

"Hey, well if I'm going with you I have to look good." Callen replied while putting his arms around her waist.

Emily was tempted to just stay in the room that night with Callen but she knew that Sam and Deeks wouldn't appreciate not having any back up.

"Sam and Deeks can handle it." Callen whispered as if he could read her mind.

"Callen!" Emily laughed. "I've got to get ready now." Callen untangled himself and went to go sit in the large living room.

When Emily came out of the bedroom almost an hour later, she was wearing a navy blue maxi-dress with gold stitching on the bodice. Callen noticed that this was different from the short and tight dresses that she had been wearing for the past week. This seemed more like her but it also seemed more conducive to the gun holster that was surely strapped to her thigh. It was a jolting reminder that this was their job and it was their job to catch this guy.

"Are you ready?" Callen asked. Emily nodded and the couple made their way to the ballroom upstairs. Walking in, Emily and Callen saw Deeks and Sam already in their seats.

"I don't see Matthews." Sam said into his mic.

"He'll show." Callen replied, scanning the crowd. "Be patient."

For the next three hours, the agents ate their dinner and made small talk with the couples sitting around them. At 10, the crowd moved into an adjacent room where music was playing. As couples began to dance, there was still no sign of their suspect. Even Emily was tired of this.

"Maybe Eric was wrong on this one." She whispered while dancing with Callen.

"No." Callen said, his eyes darting to something behind Emily. "He's looking right at you."

"I'm going to go to the restroom, see if he follows me and then make your move."

Callen nodded. "Be careful."

Emily smiled briefly before making her way off the dance floor. Sure enough, Matthews took the bait and began to follow her.

"We're moving guys." Callen said into his mic. "Don't lose them."

Sam and Deeks began moving towards Emily. When a new song came on, more couples flooded the dance floor.

"I lost visual." Callen said.

"Us too." Sam replied. "Damn!"

"Eric, I need eyes. Where are they going?" Callen screamed, jolting the techie into action. Sounds of frantic typing could be heard through the earpieces.

"Okay, I'm trying to get a map up. Just give me a second."

"We don't have a second Eric." Deeks said.

….

Emily was casually making her way to the women's restroom, completely aware of the man that was following her. She was wondering what the hell was taking the guys so long. A sharp pain in her shoulder caused the agent to gasp in surprise. What the hell was that? Emily clumsily felt the back of her shoulder and pulled out a tiny dart-like object. He had drugged her? Shit. No longer able to carry her weight, Emily knelt to the ground and fumbled for her gun. A rough hand stopped her and dragged her into what looked like a large maintenance closet. Some sort of boiler looking machine was making an excessive amount of noise.

Emily was in trouble, she couldn't move, the guys had no idea where she was, and no one could hear her scream. This was bad. This was very bad.

…

"Eric!" Callen screamed again. "Where is she?"

"Callen, I don't know." Eric said somewhat frantically. "I'm having a hard time bring up cameras."

"Activate her GPS." Sam suggested.

"I can't get a good signal on her phone." Eric said. If something happened to Emily the team would never forgive him. "Wait! I've got something. She's in a room off of the main hallway but it looks like you need a code to get in. I'm hacking the system right now."

The team raced towards the main hallway and prayed that they weren't too late. Right about the time they reached the room, Eric gave them the access code.

Callen quickly opened the door, gun drawn. Emily was lying on floor, gun in hand. Beside her was the body of Lucas Matthews.

"Took you long enough to show up." Emily smirked.

Callen let out a sigh of relief, as did Sam and Eric. Deeks just looked confused.

"Why are you lying on the floor?" He asked.

"The asshole drugged me." Emily said with a grimace. "I can't really move."

Sam picked up the agent and the team made their way back to Emily and Callen's room.

….

"Hey, you can move your toes again!" Deeks exclaimed as he began packing up Emily's things.

"Bite me."

Everyone just laughed. They were all glad that this hadn't ended in one of them dying. After a week of pampering and fake identities, the team was ready to have things go back to normal. Even Callen, who thought that he would miss this charade. He was anxious to go back to LA and see what his future with Emily entailed. The flight back to LA was long but the team slept the whole way.

Hetty was glad to have her agents back, and to see that they were all safe. Callen looked happier than she had ever seen him and she thought it best to call him in to her office for a report on the "assignment."

"Hetty?" Callen said, walking into her office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, yes. Sit down Mr. Callen." Hetty said as she got up to get a small box out of her cabinet. "This is for you." She said, placing the wooden box in front of him."

A shocked look appeared on Callen's face when he opened the box. "What is this for?"

"I think you know exactly what it is for Mr. Callen. Consider it a present."

Callen smiled as he fingered the contents. "How did you know?"

Hetty smiled that all knowing smile of hers and said "I know everything Mr. Callen."

**Sorry this took so long but I had a hard time figuring out where I wanted to take this. I hope you like it! Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

Callen spent the next week waging an internal battle. Should he? Or Shouldn't he? A sea of 'what if's' crossed his mind. Callen had finally decided what he was going to do, what he had to do. He put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and left his house. About five minutes into his drive he decided that he was underdressed so he returned home and put on the only suit he owned and headed out. Again he decided that he looked ridiculous. He changed one final time into jeans and a white t-shirt, thinking to himself that he was acting like a girl.

Callen sat in his car for about twenty minutes before getting up the nerve to ring Emily's doorbell. Standing on her front porch, Callen began to plan out exactly what he was going to say. "You're so amazing…." He mumbled. "No, that sounds stupid."

"You make me feel….. No, that's worse."

"Whatever, ill wing it." Callen said with a nervous sigh. He rang the bell once more. Where was she? Callen tried the door and found it unlocked. Maybe she was just in the shower. Callen walked into her house, a place that he had become very familiar with. It was empty. Everything was gone.

"Emily?" He called out, only to hear his echo answer him.

She was gone.

Callen has been in such shock that, at first, he didn't hear his phone ring.

"What?" Callen almost yelled into the phone.

"Mr. Callen?" It was Hetty. Maybe she could tell him what was going on.

"Hetty, Where's Emily?"

"I was hoping you could tell me Mr. Callen. She sent me a note saying that she had received an offer from the CIA that she simply couldn't pass up. I would assume that she has moved back to Washington. Do you know of any reason why she would have wanted to leave?"

Callen's mind was racing. How could she just leave? Why hadn't she said anything?

"I don't know Hetty." But Callen did know. Emily hadn't felt the same way about him. How could he have let this happen?

Callen sat down on the wooden staircase and pulled the small box out of his pocket. Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring. He honestly thought that they could be happy together. But he was wrong. He didn't deserve to be happy. He would always be alone.

**The end? Most likely…**


	23. Chapter 23

"Emily! It's so good to see you again." A man's voice boomed in a large modern office. "We truly are thrilled that you have agreed to take this job."

Emily just weakly smiled in response. She never thought that she would be back in this office, the director of the CIA's office. Director Bartlett was retiring and they had been to get her to take the position for months. She had refused until about four days ago, when everything had changed.

"Well anyways, this is David." Bartlett said gesturing towards a tall man in a black suit with very James Bond-ish looks. "He will show you to your new office and get you caught up."

Emily nodded and followed David to the door.

"Oh, and Emily? It's good to have you back."

….

That night as Emily stood in her new apartment, tears rolled down her face. It was raining outside and storm clouds had cast an eerie grey shadow over New York City. She would have to get used to that. No more sunny LA. Emily had always loved NYC but now it just seemed dead and lonely

She was truly scared for the first time in her life. What she had just done, acting on pure impulse, scared her. Being back in a job she didn't love scared her. Doing this without Callen scared her.

Callen. He must be freaking out right now. She hated to do this to him and to the team but she didn't want to put him through this. It wasn't what he wanted. She had to do this alone. Even if it meant that she would never see him again. Even if it meant that he would hate her.

He had been there for her so many times and she couldn't imagine doing this without him. Her mind wandered back to a cold November day after a particularly grueling PT session. After he had helped her into her house, normally she would have taken a shower but even the simple task of washing her hair seemed too difficult. Callen had just taken her into his arms on the couch and wrapped her in a wool blanket. She told him that she loved him for the first time that night. It was one of the few times she had seen Callen cry. He loved her so much, she knew that. It was why she had to leave.

She longed to be there again. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms once more. Emily wiped away the tears and turned to continue unpacking. She could never be with Callen again. She had to start a new life without him. No matter how much her heat resisted.

**So after receiving some strongly worded reviews and about 16 Pm's, I decided that I should continue the story and give some answers. I hope everyone keeps reading and reviewing. **


	24. Chapter 24

*Four Years later*

"Hetty, do we have to do this?" Sam whined. NCIS was partnering with the CIA office in New York on a case involving dead marines as well as two CIA agents. In order for NCIS to stay on the case, Hetty agreed to fly the team to New York to act as backup, a decision that was not very popular.

"Mr. Hanna, it is a little bit too late for that seeing as though we are already here." Hetty replied looking out her window. The rest of the team followed suit.

"Wow. That's awesome!" Deeks exclaimed as he took in the skyline of the Big Apple on that clear Friday afternoon.

Once the plane landed, they were picked up by two CIA agents, David and Ron, and driven to the HQ. It was a large glass building right in the middle of New York. Callen had to admit, this would be a pretty fun place to come to work every day.

The only reason he had agreed to come was to see if he could get any information on where Emily was. After trying for four years, he had no idea where she could be. Of course, if she was on a CIA assignment there would be no way of finding her. The CIA was good at making people disappear. He still hadn't gotten over her and he probably never would. Sam and the rest of the team were mad that she would just leave. They wanted nothing to do with her anymore but Callen couldn't help but want her to come back. For someone who had been hurt so much, he couldn't be angry with her. Callen would always love Emily.

Callen was deep in thought when he bumped into something. Looking down, Callen saw a small blonde boy at his feet. Realizing that he was on the floor and some strange man was in front of him, the boy burst into tears. Instinctively, Callen scooped the boy up into his strong arms.

"Hey little man." Callen said, looking into the toddlers tear-filled eyes. "Are you okay?"

Hetty was staring at Callen and the little boy, speechless.

"Oh my god! Aiden, there you are." David exclaimed before attempting to take the young boy out of Callen's arms. The kid was having none of it and firmly wrapped his small arms around Callen's neck.

"His mom would have killed me if I had lost him." David said. "The kid hates me; I've actually never seen his take to anyone that fast."

"Does the CIA normally have little kids running around?" Deeks said, making silly faces at Aiden.

"Only when he's the director's kid." David replied.

Hetty let out an audible gasp that caused the entire team to turn their attention towards her. Aiden, who was obviously missing the attention, began playing with the silver chain around Callen's neck.

"What is it Hetty?" Callen asked, his curiosity peaked.

Before Hetty could answer Aiden squealed "Mommy!" the entire team turned around to see a stunned Emily looking back at them.

"Director Valle." David began. "I can explain. You see Aiden…."

"That's fine David. You can leave now." Emily replied, eyes still focused on Callen.

"Mommy!" Aiden exclaimed again, causing Emily to shift her focus back to her son and take the small child out of Callen's arms.

"What are you doing here? Emily asked, the toddler playing with her long hair.

"We were invited to work with the CIA on the Marine-CIA murders." Hetty replied.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you."

"Obviously." Callen said curtly.

"Callen… I…"

"Whatever, I get it. That's why you left right? Boyfriend in New York? Or did that happen after you got here?" the entire room was now staring at Callen.

"Let's talk about this somewhere more privately."

"No! We are going to talk about this now! I've spent the last four years wondering if you were alive or dead. But you were here the whole time shacking up and starting a family."

"Callen it's not like that." Emily whispered.

"Then what it is Emily? Because it looks like you completely forgot about me, about what we had. But that's fine. I doubt that Aiden's father would appreciate me being here."

"Callen! Stop it! You are Aiden's dad. Not some CIA agent, you."

Callen looked at the small boy in Emily's arms. He hadn't seen it before, but the boy looked exactly like him. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the same crooked smile. He had a son. He was a dad. He had a family.

Kensi was crying and Sam had a huge smile on his face. He was an uncle.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you leave?" Callen asked, not able to look away from the small blue orbs that mirrored his.

"I didn't think you wanted this life. It's not very conducive to our line of work. I'm sorry."

"Can I hold him?" Callen asked quietly.

Emily smiled as tears filled her eyes and she handed Aiden to his father.

"Hey Aiden." Callen smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

"Daddy." Aiden said in his happiest voice as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah Buddy. I'm your dad."

"Mommy!" Aiden exclaimed, reaching for Emily to join. Callen, with Aiden in one arm, wrapped his other arm around Emily's waist and lightly kissed her forehead.

This caused Sam, Deeks, Kensi, and even Hetty to start crying. Callen finally had the family he had always dreamed of. He would never be alone again.

**Yay! Callen finally got his happy ending, although this is not the end of the story. I am anxious to see if you liked it so review!**


	25. Chapter 25

A week after the tearful reunion with Callen and the team, Emily had her apartment in New York packed up, a letter of resignation as director of the CIA, and herself and Aiden on a flight to LA. Two weeks later, she had moved back into her old house and once again held a position with NCIS. Although, both Emily and Callen had taken a few weeks off to settle into a lifestyle that was new to both of them.

To celebrate the team being back together as well as the team's honorary nephew, they had been invited to Emily and Callen's house for an October barbeque. Sam and Callen had taken the lead on the burgers and hot dogs while Emily and Kensi sat looking at Aiden's baby pictures. Aiden was meticulously showing Deeks his very large collection on toy dinosaurs and Deeks in return was giving his very best T-Rex impression

"Looks like Deeks found a new best friend." Kensi said, turning to look at her partner who was enthusiastically playing with the three-year old. Deeks was now playing rocket ship with Aiden, throwing him up in the air and bringing him back to the ground. Aiden loved it until Deeks accidentally hit the boy's knee on the edge of Emily's glass coffee table. In a matter of seconds Aiden's bright blue eyes filled with tears and let out a loud wail.

"Ohmygod! I'm so sorry!" Deeks exclaimed, a look of terror on his face. "I broke him."

Emily just laughed and casually walked over to where her son was crying on the floor. Hearing the commotion, Callen came in and shot Deeks an icy look.

"What did you do Deeks?" Sam asked, joining the rest of the team.

"I…. uh… I don't know."

"It's fine Deeks. You didn't break him. Don't worry about it." Emily said, picking up her son. "Here Callen, why don't you take Aiden outside and let him run around in the backyard."

Callen took the still sobbing boy out of Emily's arms and Aiden immediately went quiet.

"Hey Aiden." Callen cooed. "You're fine aren't you?"

The little boy nodded and wiped the tears from his face. "You want to go play?"

A bright smile spread across the little boys face.

"He really does have a way with Aiden." Kensi said after Sam and Callen had returned outside.

"Yeah. I guess he does."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Kensi asked hesitantly.

"You want to know why I left." It was more of a statement than a question

"Yeah. I mean, Callen has always wanted a family."

Emily seemed to consider this for a moment before answering. "At the time, I didn't think Callen knew what he wanted. I was scared that he would change his mind and leave. I still am."

"You know he wouldn't leave you and Aiden."

"I love Callen but his past keeps him from settling down sometimes."

"He has a son now. He has a family." Kensi smiled encouragingly. "It's something that he's always wanted."

"I hope your right."

Outside, Callen and Sam were watching Aiden play with his mini basketball set.

"Dude, G, he really does look exactly like you."

Callen smiled. "He does." He had dreamed about a day like this for a long time. A day when he had a family of his own. A day when his son would look at him like Aiden was now.

"Daddy! Uncle Sa! Come play." Aiden squealed.

"Uncle Sa?" Sam said, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What? So the kid can't pronounce your name. It's not like it's that important." Callen laughed

"Don't make me kick your ass in front of your son." Sam joked. And so a full blown mini basketball game began.

Looking out the kitchen window, Emily smiled to herself. She couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with that man.


	26. Chapter 26

It seemed like no time had passed before Christmas had made its presence known in LA. Because it was their first Christmas as a family, Emily had gone out of her way to make the holidays special. Even before Aiden was born, when Emily was at NCIS, Callen had refused to celebrate the consumer holiday. This year was different because this year, Callen had a family and was insisting on going all out. He had set up the white reindeer in the front yard and the house had Christmas decorations up in every room. Emily, who was fond of understated silver decorations, was not impressed with the scary looking Santa Clause doll that she swore stared at her.

"That thing is beyond creepy." Emily said, refusing to turn her back on the Santa decoration that was in her living room.

"It's not creepy, it's festive." Callen replied with a smirk.

"Mmhm. Sure." Emily sarcastically. "Hey Aiden, do you want to write your letter to Santa?"

The little boy's eyes lit up at the mention of his Christmas list.

"Callen, why don't you sit with Aiden and make his list while I finish some paperwork for Hetty."

"Sure. Aiden, you go ahead and go to the kitchen. I will be there in a second." Callen said, giving the boy some paper and a pen. When Aiden was out of earshot Callen asked "What paperwork do you need to do for Hetty?"

"Callen, you know that we have to go back sooner or later. Besides, Aiden will be starting 3K in the fall and until then he can go to daycare."

Callen looked as if Emily had just said that she would feed Aiden to the lions at the zoo. "Daycare? Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Emily had had four years to get used to the idea of leaving Aiden alone and she had done it all the time when they lived in New York. Callen on the other hand had only had about five months with Aiden so his hesitation was understandable.

"Listen; let's talk about this later okay? Aiden really wants to get started on his list." Before Callen could argue, Emily had started up the stairs to her office.

Callen made his way into the kitchen and pulled Aiden onto his lap. "Okay, so what do you want to ask Santa for?"

"Dinosaur!" Aiden immediately exclaimed. Callen hesitantly wrote it down and wondered to himself how he was supposed to get a dinosaur. Aiden continued to rattle off his list and finally finished two hours later.

After putting Aiden down for bed, Callen went up to discuss the list with Emily. He found her rubbing her temples, gazing down at the sea of paperwork spread out on her desk.

"Em." Callen said quietly and raised the list. Emily took the paper from his hands and sat on the bed, motioning for Callen to sit down next to her.

"Okay, so let's see what we have here. Dinosaur?" Emily asked questioningly. "Somehow I don't think that will happen.

"We could buy like a T-Rex fossil from a museum." Callen jokingly suggested.

"There is no way in hell that a big dusty pile of bones is making its way in our house."

Our house. Who knew that two simple words would mean so much to Callen? It was just yet another reminder that he had a family. They continued to read off items and make notes for an hour before Emily fell asleep with Callen's arm around her. Callen smiled before eventually falling asleep himself.

….A week later was Christmas morning and Callen and Emily were woken up by Aiden banging on their door screaming "Santa came! Santa came!" Callen opened the door and scooped Aiden up in his arms.

"Merry Cwismas Daddy." Aiden exclaimed. Callen had to try hard not to tear up.

"Merry Christmas little man." Callen replied, giving his son a kiss on the forehead.

"Mommy! Santa!" Aiden squealed, urging Emily to hurry up.

"Okay, okay. I'm ready." Emily said after putting on one of Callen's t-shirts and her PJ shorts over her black lingerie.

The three of them went downstairs and Callen set Aiden down by the Christmas tree. Aiden got to open all of his presents first. Among them was a small football from Sam, some movies from Kensi, a huge stuffed dinosaur from Deeks, and a pocket knife from Hetty. Callen decided that he would put away the small knife until Aiden was older.

Emily went outside and came back in with a large chocolate lab with a big red bow on the collar. Aiden's eyes opened wide with shock and a smile of delight crossed his face. After ruling out a dinosaur, Emily and Callen had decided on adopting a dog from the LA shelter. Aiden named him Rex, short for T-Rex of course.

When it came time for Emily and Callen to open their presents, Aiden handed them a framed drawing. Done in green crayon, Callen and Emily stood holding hands with Aiden in between them. On the bottom, Aiden had written, in his messy handwriting the word 'Family'.

Callen gave Aiden a huge hug and thanked him, for the best present he had ever gotten. Emily also drew Aiden into her arms before handing Callen yet another present. This one was a framed photograph of the three of them at the beach the first week that Emily had moved back to LA. She hadn't known what to get Callen because he hated presents but she knew that he would enjoy a picture of his family, his only family, on his desk at work. It would remind him that he would always have something to come home to.

When all of the presents had been given out, Callen got up and went to get something out of the closet. He came back carrying a huge box that he set down at Emily's feet.

"Merry Christmas." He said.

Emily unwrapped the box and stared down at the mini gun safe that Callen had given her.

"Uh Callen. We have one of these."

"Open it." Callen said, giving her a small key.

Inside was a small velvet box. Callen reached inside to get the box and took Emily's hand in his.

"Oh. My. God." Was all that Emily could manage to say.

"Emily, seven years ago you came into the NCIS office with the brightest smile on your face. I couldn't seem to look away. You saved my life that day as you would go on to do many other times. Throughout the worst times, you gave me a reason to keep fighting. You gave me the one thing that I wanted most in life, a family. You showed me that I didn't need to run anymore. We needed each other. I have loved you since the first time you caught me staring at you on the stairs. I will love you forever and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. Will you marry me?"

Emily was crying now. Not just a few renegade tears, full blown crying. Emily shook her head. "Yes. Of course." Callen gently slipped the silver ring on her finger and kissed her lightly.

"I love you." Emily said, wiping away her tears.

"I love you too." Callen replied. "So much."


	27. Chapter 27

Callen stood in one of the guest bedrooms, fixing his tie in front of a full length mirror. He couldn't believe that this day was finally here. In about an hour's time, he would be married. Not as a cover, not under a different name, no, he was actually getting married. The door creaked open and Sam walked in.

"Hey, G. You ready?"Callen took one last look in the mirror before smiling at Sam and following him downstairs.

As Callen took his place at the front under a white arbor, he glanced at the people around him. Sam, Deeks, and Eric stood to his left. On the groom's side of the chairs sat Hetty, front and center. She gave him an encouraging smile. Jethro Gibbs sat to her right. He honestly hadn't believed it when he got an invitation to Callen's wedding. Nell and a few old friends from the CIA made up the rest of his side. Emily's parents sat to the right along with some of her good friends. All together there were only about twenty people at the wedding. Emily and Callen had opted for a small ceremony in their backyard. Emily's friend, Bailey, had taken control of the decorations. They were simple but somehow transformed the large backyard with a canopy of lights and Dendrobium Orchid's everywhere. It was beautiful.

Callen had barely noticed the start of the music until Kensi began to walk down the aisle, holding Aiden's hand. She was in a simple navy blue, strapless dress. Callen could see Deeks' face light up out of the corner of his eye. Who knew? Maybe they would be next. Aiden had on a tie in the same navy blue as Kensi's dress. He held a small pillow with the wedding bands resting on top. As he reached the arbor, Callen gave him an inconspicuous fist bump. Bailey, Emily's maid of honor was next up the aisle which told Callen that Emily was next. When the doors opened and Emily stood at the end of the aisle Callen had his eyes to the ground. Looking up, his eyes met hers. All of a sudden they were the only two people standing in that backyard. As she began walking towards him he tried to take in the sheer perfection that stood in front of him. Not only was she beautiful in her simple white strapless dress and beautiful blonde curls falling over her shoulders. She was just a beautiful person on the inside. She showed him that he had a place in her heart.

As Emily reached the front, he took her hands in his. He was shaking. He didn't realize how bad until Emily squeezed his hands and gave him an amused smile. The minister went through all of the usual wedding procession and stopped at the vows. 

"Emily and Callen have decided to write their own vows to each other." The older man said.

Emily went first, looking into Callen's eyes. "Callen, I remember the very first time you told me that you loved me. I believed it then and I have never doubted it since, because every time that you look at me, I see it in your eyes. I trust you with my life and I promise that I will always be here, loving you as much as I do right now. You are the love of my life and I can't wait to spend my forever with you."

Holding back the tears Callen began his own vows. "Emily, I remember all of the years I spent thinking that I would always be alone. I had accepted it as inevitable. I never knew that feeling of love and I never knew how much it would change my life. Because of you, Emily, I will never be alone again. I…"

Callen swallowed back tears that threatened to consume him. "I will always know the meaning of love. You are my life, my passion, my heart, my love. I promise to spend the rest of my life keeping you safe and showing you how much you mean to me. Thank you, for everything."

Emily knew how much that meant coming from Callen. She would forever remember those words and the breathtaking kiss that followed them.

With the ceremony over, Callen took the hand of his wife and of his son and they walked down that aisle together; as a family.

…

About twenty minutes after the wedding was over, a dance floor surrounded by tables had been set up. The few guests made their way to the tables and took their spots. The food was served and music was quietly playing in the background.

Emily and Callen sat towards the front enjoying the various speeches from their friends. Hetty mentioned her hope that Callen would fall for Emily when she first hired the pretty blonde agent. Sam expressed his relief that Callen had finally settled down. Deeks apologized for hitting on Emily on her first day at NCIS. Kensi started crying and couldn't really finish what she was saying but it had said something about "a beautiful family." Emily's parents said that they couldn't have wished for a better man for their daughter. Bailey congratulated her best friend on landing such a hot guy.

Emily and Callen had their first dance to "A Drop in the Ocean." It was the perfect song for Callen, who had wanted love for so long, and for Emily, who finally gave it to him.

"_A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather, I was praying that you and me might end up together. It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert. But I'm holding you closer than most,  
>'Cause you are my heaven."<em>

As they danced, Emily rested her head on Callen's shoulder.

"_By the grace of God, I do not rest at all. And New England as the leaves change; the last excuse that I'll claim, I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl."_

Callen gently kissed her hair. "I love you." He whispered.

"_But I'm holding you closer than most, 'Cause you are my heaven. You are my heaven."_

**Okay, I hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it! The song is A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope. I highly suggest looking it up and listening to it! Reviews make my day…. Wink wink. **


	28. Chapter 28

-One year later-

"Callen, can you please just go to that thing at Aiden's school tonight?" Emily said exasperated. "I have a ton of paperwork to do at the office."

When Aiden started school, Callen and Emily had to come up with a cover. Callen was a stock broker and Emily was a lawyer; two high powered careers that explained the absence of Aiden's parents and the apparent affluence.

"Em, come on! You've missed two already. We both have to go."

"Callen I can't! I just don't have the time."

"You don't have the time? Or you won't make the time?" Callen questioned angrily. "What are you up to? You come home late and you always have some mysterious paperwork to do? So what is it? Are you having an affair? Is this life not exciting enough for you?" Callen screamed. "Why don't you just leave?"

Emily said nothing. Instead she just turned to stare at a five year old Aiden who was standing behind Callen on the stairs, tears forming in his bright blue eyes. Emily quietly picked up the little boy in her arms and took him out to the car. She came back for his small backpack and her purse.

"Emily…..I'm…" Callen began.

Emily just shook her head and walked out of the door. Callen sat on a barstool in their kitchen and put his head in his hands. That was stupid.

An hour later, Callen walked into the bullpen at NCIS and looked around for Emily.

"She's not here." Sam said not looking up from his computer.

"Great, just great." Callen said putting his bag down.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sam laughed.

"Shut up."

Emily didn't come in that day. Callen just figured that she had wanted to be alone. It wasn't unlike her to take the occasional day at the beach. After picking Aiden up from school, Callen returned home to fid Emily still gone. Now Callen was angry. Aiden needed help with some random art project and he only wanted his mom to help. Callen was tired and now had to fix dinner and get Aiden ready for bed.

Three hours later, Callen finally sat down in front of the TV, cell phone in hand. He typed a quick text to Emily, "Where are you?" And pressed send.

When he still had no answer an hour later, he began to worry. Just as he was about to call her cell, Eric called him.

"Eric, what do you need? I'm in the middle.."

Eric cut him off. "Callen, its Emily." Eric hesitated and Hetty took over.

"She was in an accident this morning. It seems that she got cut off and her car went off of a highway ramp. LAPD has been searching for her alias all day. I'm sorry Mr. Callen. Perhaps you and Aiden would like to go stay with Agent Hanna?"

"Hetty, what hospital is she at?" Callen demanded.

"Mr. Callen, I'm sorry."

No, this was not happening.

"Callen…"Eric began, but Callen hung up the phone.

He never thought she was hurt. He had just thought she was mad. "Oh god, I told her that she should just leave. Those were the last words I said to her." Callen said to no one in particular.

Callen didn't know how long he had been sitting in the living room before Sam was banging on the door.

"G! Come on man, open up."

Callen walked silently to the door and let Sam in before returning to the couch.

"G, I'm sorry." Sam said, putting his hand on his partners shoulder.

Callen's eyes were full of despair. How could this have happened? How could he possibly tell Aiden?

Neither Callen, nor Sam slept that night. The next morning was a Saturday, so Aiden didn't have to go to school. The three drove to NCIS in complete silence, only the sound of Aiden playing with his toy dinosaur could be heard from the back seat.

Once at NCIS, Nell took Aiden to go play in a small living area and Sam and Callen joined Hetty up in Ops. When Callen walked in, his eyes were immediately drawn to an image of Emily's charred black BMW. Hetty explained that after her car had gone off the ramp, there had been an explosion. Callen just stared in shock at the images before him. He said nothing, but he was dying inside. He still had to tell Aiden.

As Callen walked into the room where Nell was watching Aiden, the little boy turned to face him.

"You okay Daddy?" Aiden questioned, seeing the pained look on Callen's face. The agent sat down by his son and looked him in the eyes.

Trying to find the right words Callen said "Mommy was in an accident, and she was hurt very badly."

Aiden tilted his head to one side in confusion. "Where is she?" He asked.

"Holding back tears Callen whispered "She's an angel now, Aiden."

"When is she coming back?" Aiden asked, still not understanding the meaning behind his father's words.

"She's not." Callen responded.

Aiden seemed to process this statement before his eyes filled with tears.

"Did you hurt Mommy?" He finally asked. "Because you said that you wanted her to leave?"

This killed Callen. Of course Aiden would think this. Callen could no longer hold back the tears that were forming in his eyes. He had lost the love of his life and his son thought that he was to blame. He needed to tell her that he was sorry, that he loved her, but now he never could.


	29. Chapter 29

Callen stood in the entrance of a small Church and watched as a sea of people, clad in black, processed past him. They were nameless but each of them sparred him pitiful glances. Some introduced themselves as her friends or family members, others just walked past. Aiden stood with Hetty at the front of the church. The little boy still refused to talk to him even after Hetty had made it clear that his mom's death was not Callen's fault. It was probably better that way. Callen didn't want to talk about the accident. Talking about it made it real, and Callen just couldn't accept that this was real.

It was hard to believe that it was only a year ago that they got married. He thought back to that beautiful spring day and what she had written in her vows. _"__I trust you with my life and I promise that I will always be here, loving you as much as I do right now."_ I will always be here. Those words seemed burned in his mind lately. But she isn't here anymore. She's gone. She will always be gone. He needed her now. He needed her to tell him what to do.

When the service began, Callen took his spot at the front, next to Hetty, the team, Aiden, Bailey, and Emily's parents. Callen didn't really pay attention to anything that was happening. Bailey did the eulogy and told everyone about her favorite memories of her and Emily's childhood. Kensi got up next, wanting to say a few words.

"Few people knew Emily as well as the people she worked with." Kensi began, her eyes scanning the front row where the team sat. "There is a whole list of great things that I can say about her. We never saw her without a smile. She was brave. She loved the California sun. She was the most selfless person I have ever met. But most importantly, she loved Aiden and Callen more than anything in the world. They were her light and she will always be with them."

Callen managed to give Kensi a small smile as she walked back to take her seat, wiping a small tear from her eye. The rest of the service went by in a blur. At the end, when people made their way up the aisle to say their last goodbyes, Callen carried Aiden up to his mother's casket. The little boy leaned down and gently kissed the shinny wooden box before saying "Goodbye Mommy."

Callen simply placed his palm on the casket and said "Bye Em."

…

Callen and Aiden drove home in silence. He was out of his element here. Hetty had sent over house and car titles for him to transfer to his name. Emily's will left everything to Callen so there were no issues with that.

As Callen unlocked the door to the house, an overwhelming sense of emptiness came over him. He missed her presence, the way she was always lounging in the window seat reading, the way she always had cookies on the counter. Aiden went up to his room and Callen walked into their bedroom for the first time since that morning over a week ago. He had been sleeping in a guest room because he couldn't stand to be in their room without her.

Now walking back in, Callen ran his fingers over the various earrings and necklaces scattered across the dresser. The room still smelled like her perfume. He picked up a small silver locket. His hands shook as he carefully opened it. Inside was a tiny picture of the two of them on their wedding day. Emily was laughing as Callen smashed a fork full of cake onto her face. A single tear fell down Callen's tan face. He didn't want to do this without her.


	30. Chapter 30

The three months that followed the funeral were full of firsts. Aiden's first birthday without his mom. Callen's first night back in their room. Aiden's first words to his dad. And today, Callen's first day back at NCIS.

As Callen walked to his desk on a sunny California Monday, he felt the concerned looks of his team at his back. Not able to meet their stares, Callen's eyes rested on Emily's desk. Although, it was no longer hers. It was now completely void of any sign that she had been there. For the weary agent it was another sign that Emily was never coming back.

"Mr. Callen?" the sound of Hetty's voice broke his focus and caused him to turn slightly. "Might I have a word?"

Callen nodded briefly before following the operations manager to her office; all too aware of the three pairs of eyes that tracked him.

Hetty took her seat behind her mahogany desk and motioned for him to do the same.

"If you are going to ask me if I'm okay, let me spare you the energy and tell you that I'm not and that I never will be but this is my job and…." Callen trailed off. "And well, I need the distraction right now."

Hetty seemed to consider this for a moment before responding "I trust your judgment agent Callen and quite frankly, I need you on a case." Hetty placed a thin file in front of Callen and watched quietly as he opened it and skimmed its contents.

"Brian Hach, former marine turned CIA, found dead in his apartment in D.C." Callen summarized. "What does this have to do with us? I bet the CIA is already all over it."

"It seems that agent Hach was Emily's partner at the CIA. They believe he was killed by Yassin Nadal, a Russian born operative who was believed to be behind a number of terrorist attacks and assassinations. Emily and Hach had been on the case before she transferred here. He had supposedly re-opened the case a few months back and now he is dead. The CIA seems to believe that Emily had been working with him before the accident and now they are requesting our assistance."

Callen turned his head away from Hetty and considered what the woman had just told him. Emily had never told him that she had been working on a case with the CIA but now it made sense. In the weeks before the accident, she had been distant and busy. She knew how he would feel about her doing work outside of the protection of NCIS. Callen had to know what was so important about this case that would compel Emily to accept it.

"I guess we are flying to D.C." Callen said, meeting Hetty's gaze.

….

Within hours, the team was on a plane to Washington, where they were greeted by an onslaught of CIA agents who drove them to a large office building and escorted them up to a large room filled with screens and computers.

"Whoa." Eric and Nell said in unison. Even they were impressed by the mass amounts of technology that seemed to overtake the room. Callen didn't seem to care about the technology; he was more focused on the images that were displayed on the giant LED screens. His eyes focused on a surveillance image of Emily and Brian sitting at a coffee shop in downtown D.C.

Noticing Callen's focus on the screen, one of the agents jumped in "This image was sent to the CIA last week, a day before Hach was killed. We know that agent Valle and Hach were working together on this case. It was not authorized by the CIA and we want to know what they found."'

Callen tensed. It wasn't like Emily to do something of the charts like this. Just like it wasn't like her to be distant. The team spent the rest of the day sorting through various files on Nadal and came up empty. Exhausted and hungry, they went out to a local pizza place after leaving CIA headquarters. When Callen announced that he wasn't hungry and would go to the hotel, Hetty gave him a worried glance.

Noticing the grim look in her eyes Callen attempted to settle her nerves. "I'm fine Hetty. I'm just tired and I need some time alone to think this over. Go, have fun and I will see you later tonight."

Still not appeased, but not wanting to push her lead agent, Hetty nodded before turning to leave with the rest of the team. Callen began the twenty minute walk to the hotel. He was tired and confused. He felt guilty about leaving Aiden and made a mental note to call in the morning. Attempting to organize the thoughts that seemed to be running through his mind, Callen thought back to the weeks before Emily had died.

_Callen had put Aiden down for a nap one Saturday afternoon. It was hot outside and he wanted to see if Emily wanted to take Aiden to the neighborhood pool that night. They did it a lot that summer. They would go to the pool and have dinner at the grill. Callen walked into the office where Emily typing, her brow furrowing at the screen. As Callen made his way around behind her, she immediately closed the open windows and logged off. _

"_What was that?" Callen asked, brushing the top of her hair with his lips._

"_Oh, that was nothing, just boring work stuff." She had responded. At the time, Callen had let it slip from his mind without a second thought. He did the same when she would take her calls outside or in the office with the door closed. He never thought she could be hiding something. _

Had Callen been paying attention, he would have noticed the men walking quickly behind him. He wouldn't have been caught off guard when one put him in a chokehold that rendered his unconscious.

…

Callen didn't know how long he had been out when he finally came to in an industrial looking office. He pulled at the cuffs that restrained him to a metal chair. Men outside the room were speaking Russian but their voices were muffled by the sound of heavy machinery. Callen was able to make out something about a video. Moments later a man that Callen recognized as Yassin Nadal opened the door and began to walk in a circle around Callen.

"What do you want?" Callen asked calmly. He didn't feel like playing games with these people.

"Getting right to the point." Yassin responded. "I like that. Well very simply, I want special agent Emily Valle and I want you to tell me where she is."

Callen laughed, and not just a small sarcastic laugh. The agent was on the verge of hysterics. World's dumbest criminals? Don't they know anything? "You want to know where she is? I will tell you exactly where she is." Callen responded.

"Really?" Yassin responded, an eyebrow raised. "I figured we would have to drag the information out of you."

"She's in St. Monica's cemetery in Los Angeles, plot number 216."Callen said with a sad smile. "She died in a car accident three months ago."

"Is that right? Because I know for a fact that that is a complete lie."

"Go look up the death certificate."

"You say that she died three months ago?"

Callen nodded, flashes if her burnt car crossing his mind.

"Well then how come she was in D.C. last week?" Yassin said, placing photos of a woman in jeans, a grey hoodie and a baseball cap suspiciously scanning the area around her. Small strands of blonde hair fell from underneath the ball cap. Callen immediately recognized Emily. She looked tired and paranoid but it was her. But that was impossible. Emily was dead. He saw the car, the burnt body.

"So big deal, you altered the time stamp."

"Look at the TV screen behind her."

A sickening feeling settled in the pit of Callen's stomach. On the large screen was a still of a wild fire that had been spreading across California. The fire had started last Tuesday. Callen didn't know whether to be elated that Emily was alive, furious that she had left, or terrified that he might lose her all over again.

Seeing the look on the agents face, Yassin called to one of the men that was just outside the door. "Kill him, he knows nothing." He said in Russian.

Callen met the younger mans stare as a gun was pointed to his head. Callen closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do now. He thought of the little boy he had left at home and he pictured Hetty telling him that his dad had died as well. No one would ever know that Emily was alive and Aiden would grow up without his parents. Callen let the tears flow freely down his face. How had his life turned so drastically around? Callen jumped as the all too familiar sound of gunshots echoed in the tiny room. It took Callen a few moments to find the absence of a searing pain anywhere on his body. Callen tentatively opened his eyes to see Emily leaning against the door frame, gun in her hand, breathing heavily. Yassin and two other men lay dead on the floor.

"You okay?" She asked, meeting his eyes for the first time.

A wave of thoughts rushed through his mind but he couldn't seem to put them into a coherent response. Instead Callen just starred at the wall while Emily undid the handcuffs. Once done, Emily kneeled in front of him, taking his hands in hers.

"Say something, please."

"You're alive?" Was all he could manage. It was one thing seeing her in pictures but another entirely to have her here in front of him.

"I'm so sorry Callen. I had to. They were going to come after you and Aiden. I was hoping that word would get back to them that I was dead and they would give it up long enough for me and Brian to find them. But then they killed Brian and saw me on the street and everything else fell apart."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Callen asked, the hurt obvious in his blue eyes.

"You had to believe it. Everyone had to believe it or they would have known. I'm sorry Callen. I hated to hurt you and Aiden and the team, but I had to keep you safe."

"How? How did you do this without even Hetty knowing?"

"I had Brian and some old CIA contacts fake my death. They made it look pretty convincing. I stayed in LA for about a week to make sure that you were okay and then left for D.C."

"You saw the funeral." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I was there. It took everything I had not to run down and be with you and Aiden. I'm so sorry." A tear rolled down Emily's face and Callen gently brushed it away with his thumb. Callen took her in his arms and it seemed like the first time all over again. Instantly all of the pain, all of the anger that had consumed Callen's life in the past months vanished. He had Emily again and that was all that mattered.

**What did you think? Sorry this took so long but I wanted to get it right. Please review!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Ok so I just got back from vacation and had some messages that people couldn't open or comment on this chapter…so I'm re-uploading to see if that fixed it. Let me know!**

"I knew we shouldn't have let him go back on his own." Sam said while pacing in Callen's hotel room. "I should have gone back with him."

"Where do you think he went Hetty?" Kensi asked, looking out the hotel window.

"I'm afraid that he did not willingly go anywhere Miss Blye." A loud crash brought the team's attention to Sam, who had smashed a hole in the wall with his fist.

"Mr. Hanna…." Hetty said in a warning tone.

"No Hetty, we already lost Emily, now we could lose G. What are you going to tell Aiden? That now both of his parents are dead?" Sam screamed. The room was silent. Everyone was staring at the floor, not wanting to accept that that might be their reality.

Hetty had just sat down on the bed, hand covering her mouth, when the hotel door opened and Callen tentatively stepped in.

"Callen!" Kensi exclaimed before running across the room. "Thank God your okay. Where were you?"

"G, what happened?" Sam asked, noticing the blood on his partner's shirt. Callen seemed to contemplate this for a moment before answering "I wasn't paying attention when I was walking back to the hotel and three of Yassin's men attacked me and I woke up a few hours later in an office building downtown."

"What did they want Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked, walking over to her lead agent. "And how were you able to come back?"

"They wanted Emily. They wanted me to tell them where Emily was."

At the mention of the fallen agent, the team was silent. Any questions seemed to get caught in their throats.

"Don't they know…..?" Deeks began.

"I told them, they didn't believe me."

"Then how, Mr. Callen, were you able to get away?"

Callen smiled to himself. "A ghost." He answered simply.

Before anyone had time to respond, the door opened slowly. Deeks was the first to see Emily standing in the doorway. The LAPD detective looked as if he had seen, well, a ghost. The rest of the team turned to see Emily in a torn and dirty white T-shirt, blood stained jeans, and running shoes. She had dark circles around her eyes that told them that she hadn't slept in days. She was thin, too thin. Her once athletic build was reduced to an almost skeletal frame. What shocked them the most, however, was that she was alive.

Hetty was the first to move, the other agents still, with mouths agape. The operations manager walked purposefully to the agent, whose death she had mourned greatly just a few months before, and did something so out of character that even Emily seemed shocked. Hetty took one of Emily's hands in hers and squeezed tightly, a single tear running down her cheek. "My dear, what happened?"

Emily sat down on one of the beds, the team huddled around her, and told them about the danger she and her family were in. She told them about the fake accident, the case she was working on with Brian Hach, and how she had found Callen. Once she had told them everything, Kensi was the first to speak.

"I am so glad that you're okay. It just…..well it wasn't the same without you." She said, enveloping Emily in a huge hug.

Sam had been looking at Callen the entire time. He looked alive again. It was something that Sam had missed in the past months and as happy that he was to see Emily back, he was overjoyed that he had his partner back.

"As much as we all have some catching up to do, I think Em needs to take a shower, have some dinner and get on a plane back to LA because I think that one little boy would really like to see his mom." This made everyone smile. No one, especially not Callen, could wait to see the look on Aiden's face when Emily walked into their house.

…..

Six hours later, their plane landed at LAX. Emily had slept the whole way with her head resting on Callen's shoulder. It was the first time in months that he was able to sleep soundly as well. Emily's anxiety about seeing Aiden made the 20 minute drive from the airport seem like hours. What if he was angry? What if he didn't understand?

Noticing Emily's nervousness, Callen reached across and took her hand in his. Her thin hand was shaking. Callen didn't expect that everything would miraculously go back to normal but seeing Emily's emotional state was beginning to worry him. Pulling into their driveway, Emily breathed in sharply and slowly got out of the car. They had decided that Callen would go in alone and talk to Aiden. She didn't want to scare him.

Emily waited nervously on the front steps as Callen walked in and Called Aiden down stairs after dismissing the nanny.

"Hey buddy!" Callen said taking Aiden into his arms.

"Daddy!" Aiden laughed. "Can we order pizza for dinner?"

"Of course, but first I want to talk to you about something." Callen said, putting the boy down on the couch. "You know how mommy caught bad guys right?"

At the mention of Emily, Aiden seemed to deflate. The bright smile gone from his face, Aiden replied "Yes."

"Well, there were some very bad guys that were after her and they were going to hurt us too and she knew that. Do you understand?"

Aiden nodded sadly.

"Well she had to play pretend so that they would leave us alone, but now she doesn't have to pretend anymore."

As if on cue, Emily walked in the door. Aiden's bright blue eyes opened wide. He didn't care about why, he didn't care about how. The only thing that mattered to Aiden was that his mom was standing in front of him. In seconds, Aiden had launched himself off of the couch and into Emily's arms. Emily was crying, Callen was crying, Aiden was looking as if someone had turned him lose in a toy store.

Aiden pulled away slightly from Emily and his eyes met hers. "Are you leaving again?"

"No, Aiden. I'm never leaving you two again."

"Good, because daddy can't make chocolate chip pancakes."

This caused both Emily and Callen to go into hysterics. The rest of the night was spent eating pizza and ice cream. With Aiden tucked away in his bed, Callen was finally able to sit back and take in the events of the past 24 hours. He still expected to wake up the next morning and her to be gone again.

Emily was putting dishes away in the kitchen and Callen came up quietly behind her. He put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I'm never letting you go again. I hope you know that." He said quietly.

Turning to face him, Emily smiled and kissed him lightly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good, because I can't lose you again."

"I'm sorry Callen."  
>"No, I'm sorry. The last world I said to you….." Callen trailed off. " I couldn't forgive myself."<p>

"We've fought before, we'll fight again. You can't beat yourself up over it."

"My whole life has been spent trying to find a family, trying to belong. You changed my world. I love you more than you could ever know. Thank you for coming back."

"Thank you, for giving me something to come back to."

**Sorry again for taking so long to update. Hope you enjoyed it. Review please! Tell me what you want to see next!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Alright, so I haven't felt very inspired lately and I didn't want to add a chapter that I wasn't pleased with. I had a few requests for a steamy love scene between Emily and Callen. However, I pretty much suck at writing them. If anyone would like to submit something I would be happy to incorporate it into a chapter and would give full credit of course. **

***One month later***

"Damnit!" Deeks exclaimed. He had failed for the sixth straight time in shooting a paper ball into a trash can on the opposite wall.

"The angle must be off…" Deeks mumbled to himself as he prepared to shoot again.

"There's nothing wrong with the angle." Callen said, looking up from the files that littered his desk. "Your aim, maybe, but not the angle." This triggered a snort from Sam and an icy glare from Deeks.

"Oh Deeks. Are they being mean to you again?" Emily asked, trying to hide her smile.

"They just don't…" Deeks stopped mid- sentence. "Are those donuts?"

Emily placed the pink box on an empty desk before heading over to make herself coffee. "Enjoy."

In one swift move, Deeks jumped out of his chair and bounded over to the sugary pastries. "Sweet!"

"Why do we always have to bring donuts? What about a fruit tray next time?" Sam asked, trying to avoid looking at the pastry box.

"Cause donuts are way better than fruit." Deeks said, looking at the donut in his hand as if it were a centerfold model.

"No time for donuts Mr. Deeks." Hetty said from the upstairs balcony. "We have a lead on the Sandoval case. I need you and Miss Blye to check out an auto body shop on Clark. Mr. Callen, take Mr. Hanna and check out the address being sent to your phones."

Jose Sandoval was an off duty Marine that had been murdered a few days ago. Callen and Sam were headed to his girlfriend's house that had been broken into the night before.

Three hours later, both Kensi and Deeks and Sam and Callen had come up with no new information.

"Stupid dog." Sam mumbled, bending down to assess the damage on his ankle. Sandoval's girlfriend's dog seemed to have something against the NCIS agent and bit him on the ankle. "That thing was evil. Pure evil. Did you see the look in his eyes?"

"Oh yes. That was one ferocious Pomeranian." Callen laughed. "You're lucky you made it out with your leg."

"Ha ha very- CALLEN! Watch out!"

Callen swerved just in time to miss the kid that had just run across the road.

"What the hell?" Callen yelled at the hoodie clad figure. "You could have been killed."

Walking closer, Callen could see that the figure was a boy, not older than fifteen, with a bloody T-shirt.

"Hey, are you okay?" Callen asked, kneeling down to the small boy. The NCIS agent put his hand on the boys shoulder only to have him violently jerk away.  
>"Don't touch me!" The boy yelled.<p>

"Hey man, we're not going to hurt you." Sam said, showing the scared boy his badge.

"I don't want to go back there." The kid sobbed.

"Come with us. We will take you to get cleaned up. Maybe get some food?" Callen suggested. The boy just shook his head. Callen pulled out his cell phone and sent Emily a text to meet them. If anyone could put the young boy at ease, it would be her.

About twenty minutes later, Emily pulled up next to the charger. "Hey guys." Emily said walking over. She had a great poker face. To anyone else, she looked calm and only slightly curious about the boy at Sam's feet but to Callen, she looked like she did when there was something wrong with Aiden.

"Hey." She said sitting down next to the boy, who was still holding his knees to his chest. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up and was met with Emily's warm smile. "Mark." He said quietly.

"Hi Mark. I'm Emily." She said extending her slender hand.

Mark tentatively took it in his own before asking, "Do you know them?"

"I do." She replied. "They won't hurt you. Can you come with us so that we can get you cleaned up?"

Emily could see the hesitation evident in the boy's eyes. He obviously wasn't used to trusting people, especially not adults. Slowly, Mark rose from the ground and looked from Emily to Sam to Callen and back to Emily again.

"Let's go. Callen you ride with us. Sam, you can follow in the charger." Emily called out.

The ride back to NCIS was a quiet one. Callen could see the worry in Emily's eyes and couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking about their own son.

They arrived at the boatshed a few minutes later. Sam had called Kensi and Deeks and asked them to pick up a burger and fries, suspecting that the boy was hungry. He was right.

Mark only hesitated momentarily before digging in to the fast food bag that was placed in front of him.

The team congregated outside of the boatshed and discussed what to do about Mark.

"We need to know what happened to him." Deeks said, raking a hand through his messy hair.

"I think it's pretty obvious what happened to him." Callen said grimly. "He's been beaten and starved. What we need to find out is who did this."

"Yeah, but he's not talking. At all." Sam added

Emily looked through the window at the skinny kid that was now devouring the hamburger as if he hadn't eaten in days. Swallowing back tears, Emily said "I can get him to talk. We need to find out who did this now."

**I know that this was a short chapter but I promise to update more this week. Please review! They make me write faster! And also if anyone wants to do a love scene let me know. Thanks 3**


	33. Chapter 33

**-WARNING: CHILD ABUSE AND GRAPHIC IMAGES/TEXT-**

**Yay! So I'm not waiting a month to update this time. I have had about three people submit love scenes but they seemed a bit too smutty for this story. (Sorry to offend anyone) And that's not really the direction I was going for. Anyways, I am still reviewing anything that gets sent to me. **

Callen opened the door to the interrogation room at the boatshed to reveal Mark slumped down in the metal chair.

"Hey Mark." Callen began, taking a seat opposite the frightened boy. "Can you tell me who you were running from today?"

Mark kept his eyes to the floor and shook his head slowly. "I can't." he whispered.

Callen leaned forward on the table and said "Whoever did this to you needs to pay. I promise you that I will keep you safe but I need you to tell me what happened."

Mark seemed to contemplate this for a moment before replying "He'll only hurt the others if I say something."

"Others?" Callen asked. He almost didn't want to hear the rest of this story.

Mark's brown eyes darkened. "He keeps us in a room at the back of this old RV. It's behind his house but too far away for the neighbors to notice. If we make a noise or try to get away he would hurt one of the others. I…I tried to get away yesterday….and he….." Tears began to form in the boys eyes.

"What did he do?" Callen asked, putting a hand on Mark's shoulder.

"He has this taser. He held it to one of the girl's necks until she passed out. I just had to get out of there. I thought…..I thought that if I could get help then maybe…. Maybe she'd be okay."

"What is this man's name Mark?" Callen asked, furry evident in the agents blue eyes.

"Thomas Rickman. He's my foster father." Mark replied sadly.

"You're….. you're foster father is doing this?" Callen said a bit too loudly. Mark's head shot up and if he had been hit, clearly assuming that Callen's anger was directed at him.

Noticing the rigid posture of the boy, Callen bent down on one knee and met Mark's eyes. "I promise that no one will ever hurt you again." And with that, Callen strode out of the room and addressed Eric.

"Did you get that name?"

"I already sent the address to your phones." Eric replied.

"Em, you come with me. Sam, I want you to organize back up from LAPD. We're going to need it."

Callen broke a bevy of traffic rules on the way to the Rickman residence. Noticing her husband's death grip on the wheel Emily asked "Callen? Are you okay?"

Blinking as if he just realized that she was in the car, Callen responded "Let's just say that I know what it's like to have the foster system fail you." He didn't have to say anymore and Emily mentally kicked herself for not thinking about it before. There were obviously some skeletons in Callen's closet from his days in the foster care system.

Emily had never questioned Callen's ability to work a case but she now wondered if this would bring up too many unwanted memories for the agent to her left. She didn't have time to continue dwelling on these apprehensions, however, because the Charger had just pulled up in front of a pleasant looking house. Emily and Callen, followed by Deeks and Kensi, made their way to various points of entrance. Callen found the RV toward the back of the property, just where Mark said it would be. Gun drawn, Callen entered the RV. A wave of nausea hit him as he took in the filth that covered every surface. Roaches crawled out of the sink and cereal boxes. The stench was unbearable.

If there were any kids in there, Callen had to get them out soon. "Hello?" Callen called out. "You can come out. I'm here to help."

Callen saw something move out of the corner of his eye and he found himself looking down at a small blonde girl, not more than six years old, looking out at him from behind a closet door.

"Hey princess." Callen said, bending down and holding out his hand. The small girl disappeared back in the closet. Callen knew exactly how to get her to come out. "Do you want a piece of candy?" Callen said, holding out a red lollipop. This was a trick he had used many times to get Aiden to clean up his toys.

The little girl appeared again, this time with a slight smile forming on her face. A tiny hand reached out to take the lollipop before coming out of the closet and standing by the agent. She was followed by five more kids, ranging in age from eight to fifteen.

Just then, Deeks walked in, gagged from the smell and said "Rickman isn't here. We must have just missed him. But there's something inside that you need to see."

"Hey Cal…" Emily began. "Oh my god." She said as she took in the contents of the trailer. Almost immediately her eyes rested on the little girl standing beside Callen.

"Hi." Emily said with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Amaya." The girl replied sweetly.

"Em, stay with the kids. I'm going to see what Deeks wanted and then I'm going to place an angry call to Social Services."

In the house, Callen walked over to where Deeks and Sam were bent down over what looked like photo albums. Kensi was sitting on the couch, staring out the window. The books were full of pictures of kids. Kids with bruises, bound to poles. Kids with bloody noses.

"Rickman is one sick bastard. He took pictures of the different kids he abused." Sam said, shaking his head.

Callen didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He found himself being drawn into a memory that his mind had refused to let surface until now. All of a sudden he was ten years old, scared, cowering in a corner as his foster father beat him mercilessly with a bat. The younger Callen had dropped a plate, which had shattered on the floor.

"_You stupid, worthless, idiot!" Crack_

"_What's wrong with you?" Crack_

"_Piece of junk." Crack_

_Callen woke up almost a day later, his hair and skin caked with dry blood. His jeans and underwear were crumpled in a corner. _

_This night had been the turning point for a young G Callen. It was on this fateful night that Callen had resolved that all people were bad and that trusting people meant pain. _

"G?" Sam said, shaking Callen by the shoulder.

Snapping out of the painful memory, Callen blinked slowly and said "I… I've got to go….. I've got to get out… I…" With that, Callen found himself running out of the house and into the Charger. If he could just get away. Just get away and leave the memories behind before they could consume him.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Please Review! It means a lot. Thank you! 3**


	34. Chapter 34

Callen set off without really knowing where he was going. He just had to get out of that house. Too many horrific memories of the darkest days of his life. What he knew, what no one else knew, was that he had been in that house before. Rickman had been his foster father. His name wasn't Rickman then. It was Richards.

He blinked his eyes in hopes of clearing away the visions that seemed to be taking over his mind. The car seemed to be getting smaller. He needed to get some air. Yes, some air would help him clear the thoughts from his mind. Callen pulled into a parking spot near the beach. Walking on the pier always helped him to clear his mind. As he took in the sights and sounds of families running on the beach, Callen couldn't help but think back to the very first time he had run away from a foster home….. and what happened when he got caught.

_It was the first time in a while that G Callen had felt free and safe and maybe….. maybe happy. Watching the waves, Callen sat on the white California sand. He looked over at a family playing in the ocean with a big black lab. They looked so happy, so content to spend the day in the sun. Would he ever get to have that? A strong hand clasped around his arm dragged Callen out of his reverie. Callen looked up to see the angry face of Thomas Richards._

"_What the hell do you think you're doing at the beach? The beach is for kids that deserve it. You didn't do shit. Get in the car."_

_Callen knew better than to put up a fight and got into the old pickup truck without hesitation. He had taken a risk at running away. Deep down Callen knew that he would get caught, maybe subconsciously he wanted to. Getting caught meant getting punished and maybe this time his foster father would hit a little too hard, take it a little too far. Just far enough that the nightmare that was Callen's life would be over. _

_Callen had no such luck that night. Richards knew just how far he could go. With each crack of a bone breaking Callen wished for his life to be over. Yes, at just fourteen, Callen had given up on life, on people, on everything._

Thinking back to those days, Callen felt a wave of nausea rush over him. He hadn't felt this way in a while but it was still an all too familiar feeling.

"Callen?" He looked up to see Emily staring down at him. His angel. That's how he would always see the one person who had turned his life around. Standing there in a white T-shirt, her blonde beachy waves falling around her face, dark aviators not quite hiding the worry in her eyes, she was a vision. She looked exactly the same as the day she first walked into NCIS.

"Are you okay?" She asked, leaning on the rail of the pier. "I heard that you just left. I thought I might find you here."

"This case… it's brought back a lot of memories, ones that I never wanted to surface." Callen replied, not making eye contact. He didn't want her to see that there was more to what he was feeling than just some bad memories. He never wanted her to know about what Richards had done to him. No, there was no way that anyone could ever know about that.

So Callen did what he does best. "I'm fine now. Let's get back on this case. I'm going to go back to NCIS and see what I can dig up on Rickman. Go back to the house and work on finding those kids some help."

Emily looked as if she was going to argue but to Callen's relief nodded in agreement. Instead, she said "Okay, I'll meet you back at the office."

Callen was walking toward the Charger when he heard Emily call out "Hey Callen!" When he turned around she mouthed 'I love you.'' He didn't want to lie to her. He wished he could tell her. But there were just some things that he had to keep buried.

When Callen got back to NCIS, Eric already had a lead on the location of Rickman.

"He owns a rental house in Venice Beach. It's vacant now. I would try there." Eric said, pulling up a large map. "Do you want me to send the address to the others?"

"No, Eric, I will take care of it. Thanks." And with that, Callen made his way to the address Eric had given him. This was something that Callen needed to do on his own ."

-Back at Rickman's house-

"Hey Sam" Deeks called out. "Where is Callen?"

"Back at Ops. Why?"

"He knows Rickman." Deeks said quietly.

"What? How do you know?"

Deeks responded by pointing down to a page in one of the albums that they had drug out from a closet. Only a sharp intake of breath let Deeks know that Sam had seen the pictures.

"Has Emily seen these yet?" Sam asked. Too sick to speak, Deeks shook his head.

"She needs to. She has to know what's going on because she's our best chance at helping G."

"Sam? Why didn't Callen tell us that he knew Rickman?"

"I don't know why G does half of the stuff he does." Sam replied. "Em. Cam you come over here?"

"What do you need? I'm in the middle of something."

"You need to see this." Sam said handing her the album.

Emily stared at the page as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There were about four pages of pictures of a single boy, naked, bound, gagged, with burns and bruises lining his body. It was worse than anything that Emily had ever seen. She ran her thumb over the label that had been placed on the first page. "G Callen- 12" Emily could feel her hands shaking. She had to get to Callen and tell him…. Well…. Tell him anything. Sam's voice broke her train of thought.

"I knew that he had a hard time in foster care. I just…. I didn't know it was this bad. Why didn't he tell me?"

"He probably felt that by not telling us he had control over his feelings about it. We have to find him. Soon." Emily replied

Oh Callen, Emily thought as she looked down at the pictures. If there was only some way that she could take away his pain. Some way that she could erase every bad thing that anyone had ever done to him. But she couldn't and she might not be able to help him at all anymore. But one thing Emily knew for certain, she would spend the rest of her life trying.

**I hope you are enjoying the updates. Review and tell me what you liked or didn't like!**


	35. Chapter 35

Callen pulled up in front of Rickman's rental house a few minutes later, his grip on the steering wheel was the only thing keeping his hands from shaking. As Callen got out of the car, his cell buzzed in his pocket. He took it out to see Emily's face on the screen before leaving it on the driver's seat and walking up to the front door.

Rickman's beat up truck was in the driveway and Callen could hear the TV on in the front room. Rickman must not know that anyone was after him. After all, he wasn't making much of an effort to hide. Callen didn't bother knocking. Instead he turned the door knob and smiled to himself when the wooden door clicked open. Gun drawn, Callen walked in. Seeing no one in the living room, the agent began a quick search throughout the rest of the house. The agent entered the last room, the office, and felt a wave of nausea rush over him. On the far wall, there was a peg board full of pictures of little kids. Looking closer, Callen could see that some were taken at a distance and then there were some of those same kids back at Rickman's house. It seemed that Rickman had expanded his abuse to other kids, not just the foster children placed under his care.

Callen scanned over some of the pictures, some he recognized as missing. His eyes rested on one image in particular, a picture of a little boy getting off of a school bus. Spiderman backpack in tow, the little boy seemed to be running to meet a group of friends. Callen couldn't take his eyes off the photo.

"Such a pretty little boy." A man's raspy voice drew him away from the wall.

Callen turned to face the older man. "Richards. Or should I say Rickman?" He said with a scowl.

"He looks exactly like you, you know." Rickman laughed. "That's why I noticed him at first. It was like I was looking at a young G Callen. And I knew he must be yours."

Callen turned once more to look at the photo on the wall. Aiden. This sick, masochistic man had been watching Aiden. He wanted to do what he had done to Callen, to his son. The thought was too much for him to bear.

"You will never lay a finger on my son!" Callen screamed as he raised the gun that had been resting in his hand.

If Rickman was surprised he didn't show it. Instead he said "You're not going to shoot me. You didn't have the guts when you were twelve and you don't have them now."

Callen briefly remembered the events that had led to his departure from Rickman's house.

_Rickman was passed out drunk on the couch in the living room. Callen was watching him from a chair, Rickman's silver pistol in his hand. The older man had forgotten to lock the gun up that night and Callen had seized the opportunity. Callen waited and waited until finally the older man woke up. Seeing the gun in Callen's hand, Rickman merely smiled and said "You aren't going to shoot me."_

_He was right. No matter how much Callen wanted Rickman dead, he just couldn't do it. A week later, G was in another foster home, this time with a record of violence. _

Callen blinked to clear the rushing thoughts from his mind. He wasn't that scared little boy any more. No, this time Callen didn't hesitate. He even smiled as Rickman dropped to the floor, a bullet hole in his head and a surprised look on his face.

Emily and Sam rushed in the room, guns drawn, just in time to see Callen shoot Rickman's lifeless body a second and third time. Emily walked around to Callen and put her hand on his arm. Her touch seemed to pull him out of his trance-like state and he lowered the gun.

"I had to." Callen whispered. "He wanted to hurt Aiden. He had pictures of Aiden. I couldn't let him go."

Emily said nothing but motioned for Sam to report back to Hetty.

Callen seemed unable to tear his eyes away from the lifeless body on the floor. He thought killing Rickman would make him feel better. It didn't. Rickman had won. He had made Callen into a monster, something that the agent promised himself he would never become.

Callen let himself fall back against the wall and then slid down onto the floor. Why did everything in his life seem to end like this?

"I don't know what happened. I was just so mad." Callen said with his head in his hands. He couldn't bear to look at Emily and see the horror that he was sure would be evident in her eyes. "It wasn't even self defense. I murdered him."

Emily didn't speak for a while as if contemplating what to say. "It's okay Callen. He was threatening your family. You did what you had to."

"I don't know what's wrong with me Emily. I keep having these flashbacks. I can't even think anymore. I just act on impulse. It's scaring me. I'm afraid of what I might do."

It was probably the most candid Callen had ever been about what was going on in his mind and it caught Emily off guard. Too be honest, it scared her too. She was seeing pieces of Callen slip away and she didn't know if he would ever be the same.

Callen needed help. He had to get rid of the demons that had been with him since he was a boy. Because if he didn't, Emily would lose him forever. She just hoped he wasn't too far gone.

**Sorry that this took so long but I hope you enjoyed it! Comments/suggestions welcome and don't forget to review! Thanks!**


	36. Chapter 36

No one said a word as the team walked back into NCIS headquarters. They all knew what had happened between Callen and Rickman and although no one blamed Callen for what he had done, the team worried about the usually stoic agent's loss of control.

"Agent Callen, might I have a word?" Hetty's voice rang through the bullpen. Emily watched as Callen made his way into Hetty's office. She guessed that the operations manager wasn't all too happy about the events of that afternoon.

"Mr. Callen." Hetty said from behind a file folder. Placing the papers down on her desk Callen was able to see just how angry she was. "I will not tolerate the unnecessary killing of a suspect. What were you thinking?"

"I don't know. He had pictures of…. And I just…."

"I know very well what pictures he had Agent Callen but I thought that you of all people would know that you couldn't just go shooting people. Even people like Rickman."

"It won't happen again."

"I know it won't. Because I have no choice but to put you on leave. "

"Hetty, I…"

"I don't want to hear it Mr. Callen. I will see you in three weeks."

With that, Callen stormed out of her office and made his way to his Mercedes. Emily, seeing him leave, followed him outside. She found him leaning against the Mercedes with his head down. Sensing her coming, Callen said "How did I let this happen? I've never been kicked off the job."

"Maybe you need this. Spend some time with Aiden, relax." Emily replied, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, maybe you could even cook dinner tonight."

Callen smiled that brilliant smile that was seen far too little. "Sure. Stay safe." Callen got in the Mercedes and watched Emily walk back into Ops. Now what to do? It was too early to get Aiden from school so Callen found himself driving to the LA children's shelter.

He hadn't been here in years, Callen thought as he walked through the doors. "Can I help you?" The plump receptionist asked from behind the front desk.

"Some kids came in about a day ago. They were taken from their foster father, Rickman." Callen started. "I was wondering what their status was."

"I'm sorry sir, we don't release that information."

Callen flashed his badge and the receptionist immediately began to pull up information on her computer. "It looks like some of the children have already been placed with relatives that had previously applied for custody, one had actually been abducted late last year, we actually only have one of the children still with us. No family and no free spots in foster care."

"Which one?" Callen asked, glancing over the file.

"Amaya, I believe it is." She replied. "Six years old, originally from San Francisco, she was placed in social services when she was seized from her mother at three months."

Amaya, the little blonde girl that Callen had first seen at Rickman's house. "Thanks." Callen said before walking back outside and pulling out his cell phone.

"Callen? You okay?" Emily asked when she answered.

"I need you to meet me somewhere."

"Callen what is this about? Is there something wrong?"

"St. Andrews." And he disconnected.

About ten minutes later Emily pulled into the St. Andrews parking lot and walked over to the bench where Callen was sitting.

"What is this about?" She asked.

"I want to adopt Amaya." Callen said matter-of-factly.

"What? Callen no. We can't just go adopting every kid in foster care."

"I know what it's like to not have anyone, to go through every birthday wishing that someone cared, dreaming about finding that perfect family and finally having a real home. I never had a childhood but we can give one to Amaya. I need to do this Em. We can't change what she's been through but we can make sure that she never has to hurt again."

Emily didn't know what to say. What Callen was suggesting was crazy. They already had Aiden and she really didn't want any more kids but she saw that this was something that Callen wanted. No, this was something that Callen needed.

"Okay."

"Really?" Callen asked.

"Yeah. Why not?"

Emily went back inside with Callen and they sat down with one of the case workers. With Emily and Callen's background it took a matter of minutes for everything to be cleared.

"We have no reason to make this a long process." She said. "Amaya doesn't need to stay here while the paperwork goes through. We have full faith that you two will give her a great home. You are welcome to take her home tonight."

"Can we go tell her?" Callen asked. Emily couldn't help but smile at his obvious excitement.

"Of course."

**I know it's a short chapter but I should be uploading more tonight. Let me know what you thought!**


	37. Chapter 37

It had been exactly one year since Emily and Callen had adopted Amaya. She had assimilated into their family within a matter of days. She and Aiden were inseparable and he had become fiercely protective of his new sister.

It was these thoughts that brought a smile to Callen's face as he sat at his desk on a beautiful Los Angeles morning. It had been a slow week and the agents were starting to go stir crazy. Kensi and Emily had taken up yoga and had been spending their days in the NCIS gym. Sam was being his usual brooding self and was currently glowering at Deeks who was trying (and failing) to make the perfect paper airplane. Callen was grateful for this inactivity. No one had shot at his team in a while and there were no creeps threatening his family. Yes, Callen was definitely taking advantage of this break. It was no more than a minute after this thought passed through the agent's head that Eric's signature whistle could be heard from Ops.

"We have a case." Eric said with his usual cheerfulness. Callen mentally scolded himself for jinxing the good week.

"Yes! Finally. I was about to go insane." Deeks exclaimed, jumping up from his chair and letting his paper airplane fall to the ground. Sam responded with a pointed look at his partner. Callen understood this to mean that one more day of getting hit in the forehead with paper planes and Deeks would have a new bullet hole.

Kensi and Emily made their way into Ops, each sighing with relief that they were back in action.

"One more day of yoga and I was going to shove a mat down someone's throat." Kensi mumbled and Emily gave her a knowing look.

"Obviously yoga did you a lot of good." Deeks joked. He was rewarded with an elbow to the ribs from Kensi.

As Deeks struggled to say in an upright position, Eric filled the team in on their latest case.

"Petty officer first class Maureen Walsh, found dead in her cell at the women's correctional facility in California." Eric gestured to the screen where there were side by side images of Walsh. One in her Navy uniform and one bloody on a prison floor.

"How does a Navy officer end up at a correctional facility?" Emily asked, her eyes not moving from the gruesome picture.

"She was charged with murdering her best friend on board a US Naval carrier. There was no hard evidence and Walsh maintained that she was innocent. But here's where it gets interesting. After Walsh was found guilty, she began writing a tell-all book about the Navy. She wanted to expose the discrimination and who she actually believed murdered her friend. Although it was determined a suicide, we believe that she was killed before she could publish any incriminating information against her superiors." Eric explained.

"Okay, well Kensi and Deeks can go talk to her family and Emily can go..." Callen began but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Actually Agent Callen, we were thinking of something more inconspicuous." Director Vance stood with Hetty at the entrance to Ops. "Agent Valle, or I suppose I should say Agent Callen, you will go undercover as an inmate at the correctional facility. Find out what you can about Walsh's enemies there."

Emily nodded and Callen couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. What he wouldn't give for some more peaceful days where she wasn't in danger. Although he knew she was more than capable, something about this assignment put him on edge.

**I'm really sorry that I took so long to update but I've been insanely busy. I thought I'd post a short chapter to see if there was still anyone who wanted this story to continue. Let me know and review. Thanks!**


	38. Chapter 38

***I should really be more diligent about finishing this… sorry guys***

In a matter of hours Callen would be watching from a catering van as Emily was turned over to Central _California Women's_ Facility in Chowchilla, clad in an offensive orange jumpsuit and a new identity. For the duration of the Op she would be Amanda Green, an ex CEO accused of stock fraud. The team was still unsure as to the circumstances surrounding Petty officer Walsh's death and therefore, not even prison officials and guards knew of the op that would be conducted in their facility. As far as they knew, Emily was just another high profile prisoner.

Deeks, with the help of an alias, had gotten a job as a janitor and Sam had landed a guard position. Naturally, Callen had wanted a position on the inside but Hetty was having none of it. She didn't need Callen stepping in every time someone looked at Emily the wrong way.

"I still don't like this." Callen said to Emily as she packed the bag of essentials that she was allowed to take with her.

"There isn't any other option Callen, you know that." She responded, a touch of exasperation in her voice.

"Kensi could do it."

"Miss Blye has already been undercover in the prison system and we can't risk her being identified under a different alias." Hetty had unknowingly come up behind the agent and was not pleased at his attitude. "But you know that Mister Callen."

Callen said nothing as Hetty turned and walked back to her office.

"I'm going to be fine." Emily said before briefly touching his shoulder and following Hetty to pick up her new ID.

A few hours later Emily was handcuffed and led into a room where three female guards conducted a thorough strip search before arriving in the barren cell that would be her home for the next few weeks. She had a private cell, no doubt thanks to someone high up who owed Hetty a favor. It took only a few minutes for her to unpack the few belongings that she had been allowed to keep. A picture of a man, Amanda Green's husband, was placed in the corner of a dirty mirror. A few books were scattered on a small shelf.

Emily's eyes focused on the photo of her supposed husband and wondered who he actually was. Eric couldn't have found her a picture that was as much of Callen's opposite as this one was. He didn't have Callen's blue eyes that almost never gave away any emotion. He didn't look as worn down as Callen. No, this looked like a 20 something model who belonged more in a GQ issue than in NCIS. Emily sighed as she let her head rest on the prison issued pillow that adorned her bed. Things hadn't been the same with Callen lately. Or maybe, maybe things hadn't been the same with her. She was feeling restless with her life. She wasn't traveling nearly as much and it seemed as though Hetty was hesitant to give her or Callen any sort of major assignments. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't blame the petit operations manager. No one wanted to be the reason that two little kids lost a parent. And Emily and Callen knew more about that than anyone. Emily had seen the looks on everyone's faces at her funeral years earlier.

Even with this in mind, Emily had been feeling a growing sense of discontent with her life. Part of the reason that Emily got into the service was to travel and move around the world. For a while she had been able to do this with Callen but now they had kids and it was hard to just leave for Morocco or Germany. Callen didn't seem to share this sense of unease and was quite content being at home all the time. A few months earlier, much to Emily's dismay, Callen expressed an interest in retiring early and moving somewhere quieter.

Emily couldn't imagine moving out of the city, out of her beautiful, modern house. She could imagine why Callen would want a life straight out of a Norman Rockwell portrait. He had never had one. To him, that sort of normal life was what he had missed out on as a kid and something that he saw as filling that void that so many foster homes had created. It was these thoughts that lulled Emily into a dreamless sleep.

Back at home, Callen had just finished reading bedtime stories to two kids who were less than pleased that their mommy was on another "business trip". The senior agent couldn't help but smile at the two kids sleeping soundly in front of him. His kids. He would never get used to saying that.

Callen wasn't as oblivious to Emily's discontent as his wife believed. He just didn't know what to do about it. He was done with NCIS. As much as he cared about his team, it was time for him to move on. He was tired of leaving the house worrying that he wouldn't make it back home. Before, he had no one to lose. Now he had everything.

As Callen made his way back to his bedroom, he took a few moments to look at the pictures that decorated the hallway. Pictures of he and Emily in Egypt, Aiden's baby pictures, Amaya's first real Christmas. All things that Callen couldn't have wished for in his wildest dreams. A smile crossed his face as he saw a picture that Kensi had taken about a year earlier at a party they had hosted for July 4th. In the picture, Callen was looking at the camera, his arms around Emily as she smiled up at him. It was his favorite picture. It was just another reminder that the little boy that no one had ever wanted had found a home. It was in this moment that Callen realized what he needed to do. If Emily wanted to stay in LA and continue at NCIS, he wouldn't insist on moving. But he would insure that his kids would always have a parent. It was time to talk to Hetty about finding a new senior agent.

**Sooo, what did you guys think? I wanted this chapter to move away from the tragedy and focus more on day to day problems that a family would have. Like it? Hate it? Let me know and leave a review!**


	39. Chapter 39

Emily was tired. After two weeks there was still no new information on the case. She had managed to ask a few of her fellow inmates about Walsh's death and a few had mentioned something about a guard conspiracy. Emily took this information with a grain of salt. It wouldn't be unusual for disgruntled prisoners to blame a death on the people that had "unjustly locked them up."

"Absolutely ridiculous." Emily muttered to herself as she attempted to sleep. There was some sort of a commotion outside and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't drown out. The NCIS agent gave up the notion of sleep when she heard a shrill scream. Emily looked out the miniscule window in the cell door and saw at least six guards running past.

It would be the next afternoon before Emily found out what had happened. Another female prisoner had died. Prison officials were calling it suicide but Emily had other ideas. The murmurings of a corrupt guard were getting louder. She needed to talk to either Deeks or Sam. As it turned out, Sam wanted to talk to her too. He took her from her cell two days later under the premise of a visit from family. As they walked, Emily cuffed and Sam with a firm grip on her arm, the agent confirmed that there might indeed be a corrupt guard.

"The prisoner that just died didn't commit suicide." He said quietly. "She had been strangled before being hung by a bed sheet. You need to be careful. This guy has the same MO. He finds young, pretty girls who have all committed the same kind of crimes. Nothing violent, small stuff."

"Any idea who?"

"No idea." Sam replied just as they completed their journey toward the visitation room. Emily had half hoped to see Callen waiting for her but of course they couldn't risk that. Instead, Eric was sitting in front of her. Not a surprising choice because with their blond hair they could easily pass as siblings.

They chatted meaninglessly for about 10 minutes before Sam told her that her time was up. Before she left Eric whispered "He misses you." These words hung in Emily's mind as she shuffled back to her cell. She had tried to push thoughts of Callen to the back of her mind. She knew that if she allowed herself to think about him, she would lose all resolve and ditch the case. She has to remain focused. But in the back of her mind, she saw images of the family she had left. It was that night that she realized that it was time to stop comparing this life to the life she had before Callen and the kids. It was time to find adrenaline in something that wasn't her job. It was time to fully embrace her life. She had to. She had to for Callen. He was the love of her life and it was time to show him. As much as she hated to leave this part of her life behind, it was time to stop spending her life pretending to be other people. It was time to be herself.

Callen fiddled with the frayed edges on the jacket he was wearing as he sat in Hetty's office. The older woman peered over her cup of tea, Callen looking at her expectantly. He had just given his letter of resignation, yet somehow, she didn't look angry.

"I can't let you leave right now Mr. Callen. You under stand, don't you? I need to make a decision on who to replace you with. Even then, would there be any possibility of having you stay on to do purely in house operations?" Hetty finally said.

" I don't know Hetty. I cant help but feeling that everyday I am working with NCIS I am tempting fate. I just can't afford the risk anymore." Callen was torn. He loved his job. It had been the most stable thing in his life. He had learned to trust his team. It would take a lot to walk away. No, it only took her. But then again, she is a lot. She is absolutely everything.

"I'm done Hetty." Callen said so matter of factly that it was as if it was the most natural thing to say. "I am going to finish out this case and then I would be happy to give you my recommendations on a replacement." He didn't wait to hear her response before walking upstairs

Hetty would have liked to say she was stunned but something told her that this was bound to happen. It was no secret that Callen had changed in the past few years. He no longer poured everything into the job. He was happy. Too happy to do the job he was doing. To work at NCIS, somewhere where you needed pain and a certain degree of a dysfunctional life to preform well. What on earth was she to do?

Emily was woken by the sound of yelling outside her cell. A guard was saying something about a mandatory cell change for the entire unit.

"Great" She muttered. She was told that her things would be brought later. In the disorientation that came from being woken up, Emily didn't logically process the situation and didn't realize her folly until she saw cuffed and outside her cell. No one else was changing cells and there were no other guards to be seen. The entire unit was quiet.

A cloth with chloroform was pressed against her mouth before she could even scream out for help.

Emily came to some hours later in a dark room that somewhat resembled a storage closet. She had a massive headache and vaguely noticed that she was cuffed to a metal rail. She saw him sitting across from her on a chair; his legs crossed and a cocky grin spread across his face. She managed to let out a brief scream before a boot made contact with her temple. The blow didn't knock her out but the sharp pain made her wish she was unconscious.

"You need to learn to behave." Her captor mumbled as he tied a gag around her head. There was nothing she could do except wait and hope that Sam or someone else would notice she was gone. But judging by the time, she doubted that anyone would realize what happened until the morning and by then, it would be too late.

This was wishful thinking. Her attacker had no intentions of killing her so soon. The following hours were filled with a vague realization of what was going on with the occasional sharp pain. She would pass in and out of consciousness but it was always in the back of her mind that she wouldn't be getting out of this.

It was Deeks that noticed that Emily was gone. He had managed to snake an ID card from the warden. Call it intuition but Deeks thought had a bad feeling. A wave of nausea overtook him as he saw that Emily was not in the small concrete cell. Within minutes Sam had alerted prison security, Kensi was driving to the prison, and Hetty was making a late night call to Callen.

The senior agent knew that something was wrong as soon as he saw Hetty's number on the caller ID. He answered and listened with a sickening dread as Hetty calmly explained what had happened. At some point Callen had stopped listening and only snapped back to reality when he heard the dial tone that said that she had hung up. There was nothing he could do but wait. So that's what Callen did that night, he sat at the kitchen table of his family's LA home and attempted to block his mind from drifting to grisly scenarios.

Sam was furious. He has allowed this to happen. If he had just kept closer tabs on her. If anything happened to Emily, Callen would never forgive him. His mind drifted to a conversation that they had had about three weeks earlier.

"_I don't like this Sam." Callen said while sitting at his desk in Ops. He was fidgeting with the gold band on his ring finger. It was something he did whenever he was worried about Em. _

"_I will make sure nothing happens man. She will be fine. I promise."_

"_I trust you Sam." _

Sam pushed these words out of his mind as he ran through the prison searching every room.

Deeks found her on accident. He was keeping his gun and badge in the storage closet and it was there where he found the body with no trace of her attacker. He was long gone. He called 911, then Sam, then Hetty, then Kensi.

The tone of Kensi's voice made everything real. All she could say was "God, no." over and over. It broke his heart.

It was Hetty who told Callen. He knew it would be bad when Hetty showed up at his house. All he could do was cry. In that instant the whole world fell apart for Callen. It was really over this time.


	40. Chapter 40

"I always thought it would be nice to have a house on a deserted beach somewhere" Emily said as she and Callen sat together on a deserted old pier near Venice Beach.

"Mmhm" Callen sighed, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the cool October breeze on his face. Emily continued on about how nice it would be to be able to walk on the beach every morning. Callen had one arm draped over her shoulders, holding her close to keep her warm.

The sun was just setting in California and in that moment, he could think of nowhere else that he would rather be. He always liked that about Emily, she had the most amazing ability to put him at ease. Today he was particularly happy. Why wouldn't he be? He had everything he wanted and more than he could have ever dreamed. When he was in foster care he thought he wanted a family. In reality, what he really wanted was a place where he felt safe. Emily made him feel safe. He was no longer that insecure child that lived in fear of being abandoned. In a matter of a few years, she had began to heal the scars that had been left by years of not being wanted.

"Callen, are you even listening to me?" Emily laughed. She was looking up at him with her striking blue eyes shinning in the dwindling sunlight, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, of course. Something about houses and spending money." He replied jokingly.

Emily rolled her eyes before placing her head back on his shoulder. " I guess you just seem a little distracted."

Callen thought about this for a moment. Distracted. There had been a lot of that going on in his head lately. More and more often he found himself daydreaming about his future with Emily and their kids. Birthdays, graduations, college, all things that he would get to experience for the first time. He thought about the lifetime he had left with her and couldn't help but smile.

"I guess you are kind of distracting."

"I try, I try." She joked. "But, really, are you good?"

"I was just thinking. About everything that's been going on lately. You know that Aiden was helping Amaya with her school work the other day? He was being so encouraging and he got her a piece of candy when she had finished it. I just cant help but thinking of how her life would be right now if she wasn't with us. I mean, Em, I _know_ what its like to spend your childhood without that kind of love. Hell, I know what its like to be a grown man and not know that kind of love. It just….. it makes me so happy that we were able to do something about it."

Emily was a little taken aback by this out of character admission from her husband. "I know it doesn't change what you had to go through but for what its worth, I wish I could have saved you from all of that."

Callen could do nothing else in that moment but smile. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of his best friends head and replied, "You did save me."

It was this conversation that Callen recalled as sat in an uncomfortable wooden bench at St. Matthew's church in LA. Two Funerals. Emily would have hated it. She never was one to have people fussing over her. This one was different than the last. It was small, only about twenty people and most of them were members of the team.

He also wasn't as sad as he was the last time. He probably should have been but he couldn't get past the feeling of relief. He didn't have to worry about her any more. She had given him an amazing gift. She had given him a family, people to love, a place in the world. That was something he would never forget.

The past week had been a rough one. Telling their kids. That was gut wrenching. For a few days, he was inconsolable. He was looking for life insurance paperwork when he came across a small brown leather book. He opened it and for the first time in about four days, a smile spread across his face. Emily had filled it with notes to him. Some were memories, some were just a few words to get him through the days when she was no longer there. It was then that he realized, even though Emily was no longer with him. He would always have a piece of her.

Somehow, sitting in the pew of the small church. Callen felt at peace.

*** I can't believe that this story has finally come to an end. I hope you guys aren't too unhappy with the ending but I felt that it needed to be done. A big part of what I wanted for this story was for Callen to be happy and even though its not perfect, I think the character reached a sort of fulfillment. I am thinking about doing a sort of sequel with each chapter being one of the notes that Emily left him. Please let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading! **


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